NYC mom sues real estate broker and seller of her $19M Tribeca penthouse after ‘false description’

A single mother of three has filed a lawsuit alleging she was conned into buying a $19 million penthouse in New York City after her real estate broker and the seller lied about the building having a full-time doorman. 

The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, alleges the building at 37 Warren Street has only a virtual doorman on weekends and a part-time doorman on weekdays. 

It also claims the seller, identified in court documents as Zoelle LLC, was ‘intentionally false and descriptive’ in how the residence was portrayed.

According to the lawsuit, real estate firm Corcoran Group and one of its brokers, Catherine Juracich, nefariously only allowed the mom to visit the property when the doorman was working, perpetuating the illusion that the doorman was always there. 

It also claims Juracich and her colleagues would stand in front of the virtual doorman panel in the hope the prospective buyer would not see it and ask why it was needed if there was a 24/7 doorman as they said. 

The condo, which comes with a private terrace that provides a ‘three-season bloom,’ does not have a 24/7 doorman as the prospective owner was led to believe

The website advertises the property as having a doorman, but the lawsuit alleges the doorman only works part-time on weekdays, and on weekends tenants use a virtual doorman

The building once faced foreclosure, but was renovated for $15.5 million by Sonny Bazbaz, a real estate developer

It also stated  Zoelle’s misrepresentation of the condo ‘clearly intended to fraudulently induce [the] plaintiff to enter into the contract to purchase.’

The lack of a doorman has made the mom feel ‘unsafe,’ according to the lawsuit, and says ‘a full-time doorman was of major importance to settlor-beneficiary.’

The condo is located in Warren Lofts, a glitzy building in Tribeca built in 1931, and says its penthouses come equipped with private terraces and fireplaces.

The building once faced foreclosure, but was renovated for $15.5 million by Sonny Bazbaz, a real estate developer that deals with buildings in New York City and Miami. 

The condo the woman aimed to buy was a three-bedroom replete with en-suite bathrooms ‘entirely finished with Carrera marble,’ according to the website. 

It boasts a ‘chef’s kitchen,’ complete with marble countertops and ‘top of the line appliances’ like a wine refrigerator and two dishwashers. 

The private terrace is full of greenery that provides ‘a three-season bloom, creating an ever-changing vista of greenery throughout the year.’

The condo, located in New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood, boasts a ‘chef’s kitchen,’ complete with marble countertops

The broker and her colleagues would allegedly stand in front of the virtual doorman panel in the hope the prospective buyer would not see it and ask why it was needed

The lawsuit claims these plots ‘were deliberate and devised’ to fool the buyer 

But the resident broke her contract with the condo sellers in August and now wants back her $1.9 million deposit.

The lawsuit was filed by a California accountant, Kara Dille, who runs the unnamedd resident’s estate. 

The lawsuit claims these plots ‘were deliberate and devised,’ but an attorney for the seller, Howard M. Brickner, wrote in a letter filed with the court that his client isn’t responsible, saying the blame lies with the real estate broker.

‘The Seller is not liable or bound in any manner by any verbal or written statements, representations, real estate broker ‘set-ups’ or information pertaining to the above premises furnished by a real estate broker,’ Brickner wrote.