Guy Gal’s white label brokerage firm Side sued Oren and Tal Alexander’s Official Partners, alleging the Alexanders’ firm breached their contract and failed to repay a loan Side provided.
The suit is centered on two agreements Side and the Alexanders signed in August 2022, when the top brokers ended their 10-year stint at Douglas Elliman to found their new firm, which included the initial loan. In April, Side and Official amended the note, on which the Alexanders were guarantors.
Side is seeking repayment in the millions, according to a source familiar with the suit. The heavily redacted complaint only says the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000 and Side is seeking an unspecified total judgment that includes the balance of the note, plus interest and legal fees.
Side provides the back-end support and managing brokers for Official Partners, but the relationship took a turn in June when The Real Deal first reported two lawsuits accusing Oren Alexander of rape and sexual assault. Tal Alexander was sued later that month.
The lawsuit alleges Oren first defaulted on the note on June 12 and Tal on June 25 for reasons that were redacted from the complaint.
Official cut ties with the Alexanders in the weeks following news of the allegations. The brothers (first Oren, then Tal) agreed to step back from their roles at the firm and disassociate their licenses.
But the Alexanders later reneged on their initial promises to exit the brokerage, sources previously told TRD. The brothers, through their attorney James Cinque, claim they never agreed to leave Official. Side’s complaint alleges that in separate phone calls with Gal, both Oren and Tal informed the CEO of their departure and agreed to allow the firm to drop their licenses.
In mid-July, Side met with the Alexanders, and Official co-founders Nicole Oge and Andrew Wachtfogel to inform them that Official was in default under the note, according to the lawsuit. By the end of the month, the Alexanders began refusing to make payments, the complaint alleges.
Also around this time, the Alexanders started demanding a plan from Official’s remaining leadership for restoring their posts at the company if and when the lawsuits were resolved, sources told TRD. The brothers allegedly threatened legal action against co-founders Oge, Wachtfogel and Richard Jordan if they voted to oust them from the firm.
The Alexanders took full control of Official Partners in August after negotiations soured and the other co-founders pulled out of the company.
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“Official Partners has never missed a payment,” Cinque said in a statement on behalf of the Alexanders. “This lawsuit is an incredibly greedy attempt by Side to take over the business of Official Partners.”
But a spokesperson for Side responded, denying the Alexanders’ assertion.
“Side has no interest in taking over the business of Official Partners,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We are simply seeking repayment of the money we are owed.”
The majority of Official’s agents have left the firm in recent months, including heavy hitters. Oren’s longtime associate in South Florida, Isaac Lustgarten, joined the Corcoran Group in October. New York broker Jared Schwadron, who also joined Official at its inception after working with the Alexanders at Elliman, left the firm in September to join Compass.
The agent exodus sapped Official’s West Coast presence by mid-August, with brokers in Aspen and California exiting the firm. No agents are listed on Official’s website.
This article has been updated with statements from the Alexanders and Side.