What was supposed to be a flashy, fast-tracked sale of a luxury Tribeca triplex has turned into a legal slugfest over hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees.
Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions has gone to Manhattan Supreme Court asking a judge to force a Tribeca couple to pay a six-figure "kill fee" after they pulled the plug on a high-profile auction of their three-story penthouse. The company says a private arbitrator has already ruled in its favor and issued an award, and it now wants that decision turned into a court judgment so it can collect fees, interest and costs.
In its court filing, Sotheby’s Concierge seeks to confirm the arbitration award, contending that the sellers breached their auction agreement by canceling the sale. According to the New York Post, the petition asks a New York County judge to enter judgment on the award so Concierge can move ahead with collection efforts.
The Triplex And The Auction
Concierge’s marketing described the penthouse as a roughly 3,300 square foot triplex with about 2,000 square feet of outdoor terraces, four bedrooms and three baths, according to the firm’s press release. In a September 2024 release, the company said the property had gone through an approximately 42-day auction process and that a sale on its platform was pending. Promotional materials spotlighted the private outdoor space and turnkey finishes.
Public reporting states that the online auction produced a winning bid of about $5 million, but the sellers, identified as the Landsmans, declined to close and told the escrow agent to send the buyer’s deposit back. According to the New York Post, Concierge charges a 12 percent auction fee, which would be roughly $600,000 on a $5 million deal, and the company now says the couple owes more than $833,000 after arbitration, interest and fees are added in.
What The Lawsuit Seeks
The petition asks the court to confirm the arbitrator’s February award and direct the clerk to enter judgment so the auction house can treat the award like any other money judgment. As legal commentators have explained, New York courts typically confirm arbitration awards under CPLR Article 75 unless one of a few narrow statutory grounds applies, such as fraud, evident partiality or an arbitrator exceeding their authority. If the judge signs off, Sotheby’s could use post-judgment collection tools to pursue the amount awarded, along with interest and costs.
Why It Matters
Auction sales are sold to luxury owners as a way to get speed and certainty, but this dispute underscores the flip side: walking away can come with steep financial penalties. Sotheby’s has promoted Concierge as a way to compress listing timelines and tap a global pool of bidders, and this fight arrives as the company faces other contract and commission dustups in recent months.
For an overview of the auction platform, see Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions, and for recent local reporting on another Sotheby’s commission spat involving a different deal.
For now, the petition is pending and no final money judgment has been entered. The case will be one to watch for buyers, brokers and high-end sellers weighing the tradeoffs between auction formats and traditional listings. Neither Sotheby’s nor the Landsmans responded to requests for comment as of publication.
