A Douglas Elliman broker who alleged that a former mentee tried to steal his clients is now being accused by her of discrimination.
Jason Walker faces allegations in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by Natasha Page that he “repeatedly made derogatory and offensive comments” to her when they were at another brokerage, CORE. Page charges that Walker called her a lesbian and a “mulatto” and said he didn’t want to hire a Latina assistant because “Latinas may be quick to give an attitude.”
The case is the latest chapter in a legal fight between Walker and Page that has dragged on for more than two years. Steven Landy, an attorney for Walker, said there was no truth to the latest allegations and noted that a lawsuit previously filed by Page had been dismissed. He said the case has “many deficiencies.”
“[Walker] took Miss Page under his wing,” he said. “This is how she’s chosen to repay his kindness. It’s pretty regrettable.”
Page filed a nearly identical complaint in December 2018. It was dismissed in May 2019, though the judge’s order at the time indicated that Page could refile. Both the dismissed case and the new one assert that Page had no formal connection with CORE and was instead an employee of JWalker Realty. However, exhibits filed in the initial lawsuit indicate that she was employed by CORE Marketing Group even beyond October 2016, when she alleges Walker quietly fired her from his eponymous brokerage. As of July 2019, Page’s agent license was affiliated with Stillwater Real Estate and Property Group, according to court documents.
Page’s lawsuit claims she was only paid “inconsistent commissions” despite taking on the responsibilities of Walker’s assistant. When she approached Walker about being paid an assistant’s full salary, he told her he wouldn’t be rushed into doing so and could “easily replace her,” according to the lawsuit. He also allegedly joked that she should “date a homosexual male office manager at CORE, who could be ‘the girl in the relationship.’”
The lawsuit details a two-day filming session of the television show “Million Dollar Listing.” Walker had Page play his assistant because, he allegedly said, “the show needed some color” and that she was “filling the minority quota, being that she was African American and a lesbian.”
The suit charges that Walker also said he wanted to “put an afro wig on an inflatable union rat, and place it outside the office of a black/African American CEO of Jason’s former employer.”
Walker left Elliman in June 2015, then returned a year later. He’d been fired by CORE roughly a month before Elliman rehired him. Before CORE, he’d been terminated from Compass. In a May 2016 lawsuit, Walker accused Compass of wrongfully firing him and withholding $170,000 in commissions. He also accused the firm of spreading false rumors that he’s a misogynist. That case was discontinued in November 2018.
In 2017 Walker sued Page, alleging that she spread lies about him to “undermine his relationship with his clients” and misappropriated his contacts list in an attempt to poach clients “as a shortcut to developing her own network of clients and referral sources.” That case is ongoing. In her latest lawsuit, Page alleges that the 2017 lawsuit was an attempt to “chill” her discrimination claims.
Elliman declined to comment.