Q: I’m a CRE broker. A competitor is making false allegations about my conduct to a large developer to damage my reputation
A deal I was working on recently fell apart. The deal involved a co-broker who represented one of city’s largest developers and my firm. Co-broker is one of the top brokers at one of city’s largest firms.
Over the course of the transaction my client and I worked closely with the in-house term at the developer. When the deal was killed by developer I received call from in-house broker. The next day I get a call from the co-broker who is clearly upset for not being in the loop. We had a tense conversation that ended with her hanging up on me. I was civil and professional throughout.
Contact at developer said the co-broker sent long email saying I called to berate her among other allegations I would prefer not to repeat here. These allegations are untrue and if she keeps repeating they will be devastating to my professional reputation.
What she doesn’t know is that I recorded the call. What can I do?
A: If you can prove the co broker published the information to multiple parties and that you suffered commercial damage to your reputation as a result, you may have a defamation case. The challenge is usually proving that any loss of business resulted from the broker spreading false information, and that the losses are substantial enough to justify bringing a case in court. Alternatively this situation might support bringing a claim for tortious interference with contract against the co broker if you can demonstrate that she has torpedoed any deals for you. You’d be best served by having a qualified litigation attorney evaluate your potential claims.
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