Jerry Seinfeld loses real estate dispute

[edbermac]

NEW YORK (AP) -- Jerry Seinfeld's high-priced spread is going to cost him more than he thought, about $100,000 more.

A Manhattan judge has ruled that the comedian owes about that much as a commission to the broker who helped him find a townhouse on the Upper West Side that he and wife Jessica bought for $3.95 million in February 2005.

Seinfeld had argued that the broker, Tamara Cohen, did not deserve the commission because she failed to show the West 82nd Street brownstone on the Jewish Sabbath, the day the Seinfelds wanted to see it.

The Seinfelds looked at the house and made a deal to buy it without Cohen after they were unable to reach Cohen and she failed to return their calls.

Cohen said she had told the Seinfelds she observed the Jewish Sabbath and could not work between Friday evening and sundown Saturday. But the Seinfelds told the court they did not know why Cohen did not return their calls.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/TV/01/18/seinfeld.commission.ap/index.html

I mean, what's the deal?

[Boojatta]

1. Providing services to the rich is lucrative even if one doesn't return their calls! e.o.m.

[Alexander]

2. IIRC, you're not supposed to use the phone on the Sabbath.

If she's observant, which the article indicates, that might be why she didn't return their calls.

[Parche]

3. house

Who was the buyer?? Kramer??

[Deja Q]

4. Wait, I thought Kramer did his house shopping in Harlem...

:yoiks:

[liontamer]

5. some brokers in NYC are ridiculous

and get paid for nothing, but just because she didn't show them the townhouse doesn't mean she didn't find it for them, which entitles her to her commission (although what's up with the seinfelds? Saturday is the only day out of 7 that they cand take an hour from their grueling schedules to seen a house?)

[terrya]

6. It's not like he couldn't afford to pay that.

I mean, since "Seinfeld" will be in syndication everywhere until the end of time.

[baldguy]

7. "Here, put it on my card."

[driver8]

9. Not only that, but wasn't he making something like a million dollars an episode

the last season of that show?

You are right, though...I'm sure his weekly residuals could easily take care of this.

[driver8]

8. What an asshole.

$100,000 is pocket change to this guy and he wants to stiff someone out of a commission?

[peekaloo]

10. Shomer Shabbos Jerry! Hell, Walter Sobchak doesn't even bowl on that day!

;-)

[XemaSab]

11. I don't roll on shabbos!

:grr: