Nest Seekers International and developer DHA Capital have apparently buried the hatchet after sparring over claims of unpaid commission on a Nolita development site.
The residential brokerage sued DHA in June, claiming that agent Tal Reznik acted as the exclusive broker on DHA’s acquisition of 75 Kenmare Street, and was owed at least $3 million in commission. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed in court papers that hit records on Tuesday.
In its complaint, Nest Seekers cited a letter of intent signed by Josh Schuster — a former principal at DHA — and JMH Development principal Jason Halpern, in which the two firms offered to pay $55 million for the site, a former parking garage owned by Ding “John” Wai of Sentry Operation Corp. The letter of intent stipulated that Nest Seekers would be the exclusive broker on any future deal, the complaint stated.
Though JMH backed out of the deal, DHA did not. Instead, the firm — which no longer includes Schuster, who left in July to start his own firm, Silverback Development — enlisted AMS Acquisitions and First Atlantic Capital as partners. The joint venture paid $55 million for 75 Kenmare in June, public records show.
Shortly after Nest Seekers filed suit, Century 21 and P. Zaccaro also sued DHA, Sentry and Nest Seekers, claiming they were owed at least $4.8 million in commission. They alleged that Nest Seekers’ Reznik and DHA leaned on Century 21 and P. Zaccaro for an introduction to the seller, Wei, since Nest Seekers “did not have the necessary connections.”
In September, that suit was dismissed, paving the way for the settlement between Nest Seekers and DHA.
“As we maintained from the outset, the broker claims related to DHA’s successful acquisition of the Kenmare property were meritless,” said Josh Greenblatt, an attorney for DHA, which is led by Dan Hollander. “We are now pleased to have resolved all remaining disputes with Nest Seekers.”
In April, DHA filed plans for a 56,000-square-foot mixed-use project with 35 residential condos and two commercial units. The developers tapped rock star Lenny Kravitz to design the interior of the project, which has a projected sellout of $127 million.