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| November 23, 2009 |
By: Terry Sheridan |
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bankrupt affiliate of Sotheby’s International is suing the attorney who handled a $17 million residential real estate deal in Fort Lauderdale’s tony Harbor Beach area, saying he owes the brokerage more than half a million dollars.
Trustee Alan Goldberg, on behalf of SOL Sotheby’s as SOL LLC, claims Kurt Bosshardt kept $510,000, or half of the 6 percent commission allegedly owed Sotheby’s for the $17 million sale of 1 Isla Bahia last year.
Sotheby’s said that Bosshardt is not a licensed real estate salesperson or broker, and was not entitled to the money.
The brokerage split its half of the total $1.02 million commission with cooperating brokerage Coldwell Banker for the listing and marketing of the property for Mark Tompkins, who sold the property under the corporate name South Ocean Drive LLC.
Bosshardt’s failure to pay Sotheby’s the $510,000 constituted unjust enrichment, constructive fraud and a fraudulent transfer, according to the complaint.
Bosshardt said in a phone interview that state real estate law allowed him to handle the transaction on behalf of the buyer without a real estate license.
“I deny allegations that I received the commission,” he said. He declined to say how he was compensated for his work on the deal.
Personal representatives or trustees, and attorneys executing contracts are exempt from real estate licensing requirements, according to state law.
State records show Bosshardt’s 6-year-old yacht broker’s license expires Feb. 20. About a year after the Isla Bahia deal, he obtained a real estate sales associate license in March, which is effective until Sept. 30, 2010. Another real estate license application is pending.
No complaints have been filed against him with state real estate regulators, according to state records.
Goldberg’s attorneys, Rilyn Carnahan and Jerry Markowitz at Markowitz Davis Tingel & Trusty in Miami, did not return phone calls by deadline.
Bosshardt represented the buyer, who he only described as the “Bill Gates of Europe.” Gates is the co-founder of software giant Microsoft.
In a letter sent by Bosshardt’s attorney Robert Edwards in Fort Lauderdale to Carnahan, the buyer is described as “Mr. Cohen.”
Cohen, as Srun Consultants of Panama, paid $15.5 million for the 16,000-square-foot mansion at 1 Isla Bahia in April 2008. The final purchase price increased another $1.5 million for elaborate furnishings that took 18 months to complete, Bosshardt said in an earlier interview.
Originally listed for $23 million, the Fort Lauderdale home has six bedrooms, eight full baths and three half-baths, a hand-painted domed ceiling in the foyer, a library and hand-carved marble colonnades.
Tompkins’ broker, Tim Elmes, who worked for Sotheby’s at the time, asked Bosshardt about the disposition of the $510,000, Bosshardt said in a phone interview.
“I told him that was attorney-client privilege,” Bosshardt said. “He said, ‘You need to pay me $125,000,’ and it was clear his inclination was that it be paid under the table. I said, ‘Sorry, no.’ And we closed the deal.”
Elmes recalls the conversation differently.
“Well before any sale or contract, I told Kurt I could focus on finding houses for this guy [the buyer] and that we’d split whatever we get on the selling side,” he said. “Kurt shook my hand and agreed to that. No dollar amount was discussed.”
After the contract was signed, Bosshardt maintained that he held a real estate license and was entitled to a commission, Elmes said.
“When our office [attempted] to give him credit in the computer and asked for his license number, he didn’t respond,” he said. “Someone checked with the state, and he wasn’t licensed.”
Last year, Daniel DeCaro Real Estate Auctions in Naples sued seller Tompkins, saying that he owes the auctioneers a 10 percent commission because Cohen found the Isla Bahia property through the auction house.
DeCaro said he has a written agreement with Tompkins that authorized marketing of the auction, according to Bosshardt. But Tompkins never signed the agreement, he said.
Cohen testified in a deposition last week that he had no knowledge of an auction, Bosshardt said.
DeCaro declined comment and referred questions to his attorney, James Haliczer of Haliczer Pettis & Schwamm of Fort Lauderdale.
Haliczer did not return a phone call by deadline.
The 2008 sale of 1 Isla Bahia was the priciest in Fort Lauderdale since 2005, when Tompkins paid $16.25 million for the property.
The buyer, who owns seven or eight houses worldwide, had grown weary of staying at the posh St. Regis Hotel during visits to Fort Lauderdale. He spotted 1 Isla Bahia while on a boat ride, Bosshardt said.
The buyer compared the house to one he owned in Grenada, where he had bought an island and put in a power plant and housing, Bosshardt said.
Terry Sheridan can be reached at (954) 468-2614.
1 Isla Bahia photo by Melanie Bell
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