Lawsuit alleges Taylor Swift owes broker $1M for Tribeca townhouse commission

Taylor Swift allegedly skipped out on a $1.08 million broker’s commission for the $18 million Tribeca townhouse she purchased in October 2017. A new civil suit filed in Manhattan, first reported by The Real Deal (h/t New York Post), claims that Swift and her management company, Firefly, bypassed the unnamed Douglas Elliman broker who facilitated the townhouse’s sale, shorting them on the six percent commission.

The suit claims that the broker introduced Swift to the owner of 153 Franklin Street at a time when the property wasn’t on the market. The broker also took her on a tour of the 27-foot-wide townhouse and provided her with blueprints—all things that ostensibly led to Swift’s purchase of the property.

If the address sounds familiar, the reason may be twofold: The townhouse is where former IMF managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn laid low in 2011 after being indicted on charges of sexual assault. It also neighbors the building where Swift maintains a duplex penthouse, 155 Franklin Street. The “Shake It Off” singer purchased the penthouse in 2014 for $15 million from Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson. She also reportedly snagged a neighboring penthouse at a cost of $5 million for her security staff.

So why is Swift making the jump between buildings? The same boring reason celebrities usually glom onto: privacy. The townhouse’s private garage will allow Swift to bypass the paparazzi and fans who oft frequent the stretch of sidewalk in front of No. 155, waiting for the songstress to step outside.

For the past few months, rumors have circulated that Swift has taken to being surreptitiously transported between her building and car by way of a giant box. We can’t blame her for wanting to put an end to that.

• Bad Blood: Elliman accuses Taylor Swift entity of stiffing broker on commission [TRD]
• Real estate broker sues Taylor Swift over $1M commission [NYP]
• Taylor Swift may have just bought a Tribeca townhouse [Curbed]
• All Taylor Swift coverage [Curbed]