Agents sue over alleged unpaid commissions on sale of Festival Marketplace in Pompano Beach

Claudia Herrera and Christopher Bauso allege JV Acquisitions owes them close to $1.3M

JV Acquisitions Jaime Godur and Pompano Beach Festival Flea Market
JV Acquisitions Jaime Godur and Pompano Beach Festival Flea Market

Two agents are suing Boca Raton-based JV Acquisitions over alleged unpaid commissions on the $56 million sale of the Festival Marketplace in Pompano Beach.

Agents Claudia Herrera and Christopher Bauso allege in the suit filed in Broward County Civil Court that JV Acquisitions and its principal Jaime Godur owe them about $1.3 million for the sale of the 37-acre property. IMC Equity Group bought the flea market at 2900 West Sample Road in 2018, and plans to renovate the property.

The complaint alleges that broker JV Acquisitions and Godur took all the commissions and “misappropriated the entire commission for their own personal gain.”

Kevin Mason of KPM Law Firm, who represents Godur and JV Acquisitions, declined to comment.

The lawsuit is allegedly tied to two separate agreements between Herrera and Bauso and JV. According to the complaint, on about July 29, 2015, Herrera and JV entered into an agreement in which they would equally split commissions obtained through the “buying and selling of real estate properties nationwide.”

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The complaint also alleges that JV Acquisitions orally agreed that Bauso would receive a 20 percent referral fee from the gross commission earned on any deal for introducing Godur to the CFO of the seller, R/S Associates of Florida.

According to the suit, Herrera and Godur allegedly created marketing materials for the flea market so that it could be promoted to potential buyers. And in about November 2017, an interested buyer made an offer to purchase the property.

Godur allegedly concealed this offer from Herrera so that she would instead focus on rebranding the mall, even though she would be entitled to a share of any commission, according to the complaint. Godur also allegedly concealed this information from Bauso.

Attorneys Joshua B. Alper and Aiman Farooq of Morgan & Morgan represented Herrera and Bauso in the lawsuit.