Court Awards Sotheby's $1.2 Million in Donny Deutsch Commission-Dodge Case

A Manhattan judge found that MSNBC personality Donny Deutsch ripped off Sotheby’s International Realty in 2010 when he cut the broker out of the sale of a Hamptons home, denying him a commission, the New York Post reports.

But a representative for Deutsch contends that Deutsch never agreed to a 4% commission. The rep reportedly told the Post, “There was no such agreement, neither verbal nor written, and internal Sotheby’s email communications confirm this.”

The judge found that Sotheby’s broker Ed Petrie had brought a potential buyer, investor Howard Marks, to Deutsch’s East Hampton home on Tyson Lane. Realizing he knew Marks, Deutsch brokered the sale privately, cutting out Sotheby’s and Petrie, it was alleged. The Post reports that the judge agreed, and awarded Sotheby’s $1.2 million