Seinfeld Must Pay Real Estate Agent Who Wouldn't Work on Sabbath
From RNS via EthisDaily
A New York judge has ordered comedian Jerry Seinfeld to pay his real estate agent, an observant Jew, her commission even though the agent would not show a $3.95 million property on the Sabbath.New York Supreme Court Justice Rolando T. Acosta ruled that Seinfeld, who is also Jewish, should pay agent Tamara Cohen the fee, which could be as much as $98,000, even though Cohen was not available when the comedian and his wife wanted to see potential properties.
Seinfeld said Cohen did not deserve the fee because she did not return phone calls and was unavailable when he and his wife, Jessica, wanted to view the house. Seinfeld testified he did not know the agent was an observant Jew who did not work on the Sabbath.
Cohen began showing properties in September 2004 to Seinfeld's estate manager. On Feb. 11, 2005, Cohen showed the townhouse to Jessica Seinfeld and the estate manager. When they were unable to reach the agent for about 24 hours that weekend, the Seinfelds visited the house alone and agreed to purchase it. According to court papers, the comedian did not think Cohen was entitled to a full commission because she could not show him the premises when he wanted to see it.
Acosta ruled Jan. 2 that the agent was entitled to the commission. "The evidence clearly indicates that she served as the Seinfelds' real estate broker," he wrote.
"Apparently the court understood the difficulty of dealing with secular tradition and non-secular tradition, and I believe the court recognized that there must be some understanding on the part of the business community to be afforded to observant Jews in New York,"
Cohen's attorney Steven Landy, who specializes in real estate litigation, said in an interview.
Richard Menaker, Seinfeld's lawyer, said "the Seinfelds are very respectful of the Sabbath." He also contended that Cohen was a leasing agent who was inexperienced with sales, and that Cohen had rejected a finder's fee for locating the property.
"If someone is an active real estate broker and they go out of commission for the Sabbath," Menaker said, "you'd expect them to pick up their messages on Saturday evening, but there was no callback."
Bill McCartney
