Jumping the gun? Miami brokerage sues developer for commission on future Bellsouth land deal

Global International Realty accuses Thomas Conway’s Qualcon of backing out of a listing agreement that would net a $630K commission

Louis McMillian of Global International Realty and real estate investor Thomas Conway, president of Miami-based Conway CRE (Global International Realty, LinkedIn via Conway)
Louis McMillian of Global International Realty and real estate investor Thomas Conway, president of Miami-based Conway CRE (Global International Realty, LinkedIn via Conway)

UPDATED, Sept. 17, 3 p.m.: A Miami-based real estate brokerage is launching a legal strike to secure a potential $630,000 commission from the possible sale of a North Miami Beach property that a former client doesn’t yet own.

Global Investments Realty is suing an affiliate of Miami-based Qualcon Real Estate, led by developer Thomas Conway, in connection with a possible flip of a former Bellsouth parking lot at 16735 Northeast 16th Avenue.

According to the lawsuit, filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court last week, Qualcon reneged on a listing agreement with Global by claiming the person who signed the document was not authorized by Qualcon to approve the contract.

The listing agreement involves the potential sale of the parking lot that Qualcon is under contract to purchase, but the deal is at least four months away from closing, according to the lawsuit.

The agreement, which is attached to the lawsuit, states the listing price would be $10.5 million and Global’s broker Louis McMillian would get a 6 percent commission, or $630,000, for listing the property and finding a buyer. The document was signed by McMillian and Alex Mantecon on behalf of Qualcon on April 9 and expires on Oct. 31.

McMillian did not respond to a message requesting comment.

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Jose Ferrer, Global International’s lawyer, said in a statement after publication that the listing agreement is valid. “We are disappointed this disagreement escalated to the point of litigation,” Ferrer said. “The broker’s agreement and communications between the parties speak for themselves. We look forward to bringing this matter to a swift and successful conclusion.”

Evan Krakower, Qualcon’s lawyer, said the complaint is without merit. “No deal has closed at this time and therefore no commission would be due,” Krakower said. “In any event, this contract for representation had been terminated months ago. And in this instance, the alleged prospective buyer was not obtained by the realtor.”

Global alleges the brokerage fulfilled its obligations by securing a buyer who is ready to buy the parking lot as soon as Qualcon has title to the property. In a July 9 letter, which is also attached to the lawsuit, Krakower informs Global’s lawyer to provide documentation that Mantecon was authorized to enter into the listing agreement, as well as a list of potential buyers. Even if an agreement existed, Conway terminated the contract eight days earlier, Krakower added.

The lawsuit also contains an April 22 email from a Qualcon employee to McMillian about “looking forward to working with your team on the marketing assignment of our NMB site.” Conway was carbon-copied in the email.

Last year, Qualcon bought more than 1 million square feet of land from defunct bellSouth Telecommunications across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. The firm paid $25 million for eight properties, including two parcels in Opportunity Zones.