Josh Flagg Drops Elliman Boss From Hacking Lawsuit

Josh Flagg is still on the hunt for his alleged hacker.

The “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles” agent and Compass broker is dropping his former Douglas Elliman boss from a lawsuit he filed last year over claims that someone accessed and shared his private information, The Real Deal has learned.

Flagg named Stephen Kotler, the former CEO of Elliman’s Western Region, as a defendant earlier this year after initially filing the lawsuit against unknown persons identified only as “Does 1-10.”

Flagg claimed he linked Kotler to the hacking through a Proton email account, which allegedly obtained “private and confidential information” on his computer — including emails between him and his attorney — and shared it with third parties.

Attorneys for Flagg petitioned the Los Angeles County court on Wednesday to dismiss Kotler from the complaint with prejudice, meaning Flagg can’t bring these claims against him again.

“Although Mr. Flagg initially believed Stephen Kotler was responsible, after further investigation and discovery, Mr. Flagg has confirmed that Mr. Kotler is not the party responsible for this conduct,” attorneys for Flagg and Kotler wrote in a joint statement.

The decision to dismiss was made “with no money changing hands,” according to the statement.

Though Flagg is removing Kotler as a defendant, he’s moving forward with the lawsuit and working to identify the alleged culprits.

“The individual(s) responsible for this egregious violation of my privacy know who they are,” Flagg wrote in a separate statement. “They should know that I and a team of lawyers from Marty Singer’s office are coming for them and intend to see that they are brought to justice.”

Flagg worked under Kotler at Elliman until March 2024, when he left the firm and joined Compass. Flagg’s departure appeared amicable at the time, though TRD later reported documents showing the agent was terminated from his post at the brokerage in connection with settlement agreements over the sale of a Pasadena home. An attorney for Flagg disputed that characterization of his exit.

At the time, a spokesperson for Compass said the firm was “in discussions” with Flagg for “several months” prior to his departure.

Kotler stepped down from his role at Elliman in February after more than three decades with the firm. He joined the brokerage as an agent in New York before relocating to lead West Coast operations in 2016. He initially continued on as a broker with his son, Max Kotler, and brother Michael Kotler, but has since officially exited from Elliman.

Kotler’s departure from the firm came after turmoil in its Western region, including lawsuits over alleged kickback schemes. His exit followed other significant leadership shakeups at the brokerage following longtime chairman and CEO Howard Lorber’s abrupt retirement in October. Days later, the company fired the CEO of its brokerage segment, Scott Durkin.