A Downtown Miami brokerage deal involving luxury powerhouse LVMH has spilled out of the boardroom and into Miami-Dade Circuit Court, with agent Robert Festinger accusing his former partner of cutting him out of a hefty commission tied to a lease renewal at 100 North Biscayne.
Festinger has sued Carvalho Commercial Real Estate and its CEO, Luciana Carvalho, claiming his ex and one-time professional partner shut him out of a promised share of the brokerage fee on LVMH’s renewal of roughly 30,000 square feet on a seven-year term. The complaint pegs the gross commission at an estimated $425,000 and says Festinger was promised a “fair and reasonable” slice of that payday.
According to the suit, Festinger spent months working on the renewal but never received a written contractor agreement before the personal and professional relationship ended.
As reported by The Real Deal, Festinger filed the complaint in Miami-Dade Circuit Court earlier this week and alleges Carvalho and her brokerage have refused to disclose the exact commission number. His attorney, Cody German, told the outlet that Festinger performed “substantial, meaningful work” on the transaction. The report adds that Carvalho and her firm did not return requests for comment.
Lease And Tower Details
The dispute centers on LVMH’s lease renewal at 100 North Biscayne, a 30-story office tower now owned by Aby Rosen’s RFR Realty. RFR bought the tower and its adjacent garage in 2022 for about $81.1 million and has been marketing the asset publicly, according to Commercial Observer and the building’s listing materials.
Festinger’s complaint says the lease renewed at an effective net base rent of $50 per square foot and that a 4 percent commission was negotiated with the landlord. Using those figures, the suit estimates the gross commission at roughly $425,000, the pot he now says he should have shared.
Personal Claims And Rent Fight
The legal drama extends beyond office space and into the former couple’s home life. As detailed by The Real Deal, the filing says Festinger paid the entire $20,500 security deposit on a Coral Gables rental the two shared and that Carvalho still owes him more than $16,300 for her share of rent and other expenses.
Carvalho Commercial Real Estate’s website highlights luxury brands among its clients, a point Festinger’s complaint seizes on when describing Carvalho’s position in the high-end retail and office market. Festinger also alleges their professional affiliation ended in January and that once the relationship was over, he was excluded from any split of the commission on the LVMH renewal.
Legal Stakes And What Comes Next
Because Festinger says there was no written contractor agreement and that his contributions were largely oral and based on his conduct in the deal, his lawsuit leans on equitable theories such as quantum meruit and unjust enrichment rather than a straightforward breach of contract claim.
Quantum meruit allows someone to recover the reasonable value of services when there is no enforceable contract, according to Cornell’s Legal Information Institute. For unjust enrichment claims, Florida courts require proof that a plaintiff conferred a direct benefit that the defendant knowingly retained, as discussed in Florida case summaries at Justia. In practical terms, this case will likely hinge on emails, texts, drafts and other communications that show who did what on the LVMH renewal and when.
Festinger’s suit does not yet state a specific dollar demand beyond the commission estimate, and the docket does not currently list a hearing date. We will be watching the filings for any move to schedule a trial or signal a settlement.
