Galistinos, there was no such agreement. Cohen spoke with Maximillan Sanchez, another
broker, about a townhouse owned by Ray and Harriet Mayeri. According to Cohen, Sanchez said
that the commission would be 6 percent, which they agreed to split equally. Sanchez later
acknowledged that they had agreed to split the fee, but claimed that they had not discussed a
specific amount. On a Friday in February 2005, Cohen showed the townhouse to Jessica.
According to Cohen, she told Jessica that the commission would be 6 percent, with the Seinfelds
paying half, and Jessica agreed. According to Jessica, there was no such conversation. Later
that day Galistinos asked Cohen to arrange for the Seinfelds to see the premises again. Cohen
told Galistinos that her religious beliefs prevented her from showing property on Friday evenings
or Saturdays before sundown. She suggested the following Monday or Tuesday, but Galistinos
said that Jerry would not be available and asked her to contact Carolyn Liebling, Jerry’s business
manager. Cohen left Liebling a message. Over the weekend, the Seinfelds toured the building on
their own and agreed to buy the property for $3.95 million. Despite repeated attempts, they were
unable to contact Cohen. [Cohen v. Seinfeld, 15 Misc.3d 1118(A), 839 N.Y.S.2d 432 (Sup.
2007)]
(a) The contract between the Seinfelds and the Mayeris stated that the sellers would pay
Sanchez’s fee and the “buyers will pay buyer’s real estate broker’s fees.” The Mayeris paid
Sanchez $118,500, which is 3 percent of $3.95 million. The Seinfelds refused to pay Cohen. She
fi led a suit in a New York state court against them, asserting, among other things, breach of
contract. Should the court order the Seinfelds to pay Cohen? If so, is she entitled to a full
commission even though she was not available to show the townhouse when the Seinfelds
wanted to see it? Explain
(b) What obligation do parties involved in business deals owe to each other with respect to their
religious beliefs? How might the situation in this case have been avoided?