Sotheby’s International filed a lawsuit against Nancy Silverman and her LLC following a $56 million transaction for a luxury estate at 1010 Meadow Lane in Southampton. The dispute centers on Sotheby’s claim that Silverman refused to pay $840,000 in broker commissions despite the auction house’s role in closing the deal.
The sale, one of the most expensive in the Hamptons last year, involved Roger Barnett, CEO of the nutrition company Shaklee, who had not been publicly identified as the buyer until now. Sotheby’s broker Harald Grant began representing Silverman in May 2025, with an exclusive listing agreement signed in July that included a 1.5% commission and an exclusivity period lasting until January 2026.
According to the complaint, Bespoke Real Estate’s Cody Vichinsky informed Grant about Barnett as a potential buyer in July. Although Barnett dealt directly with Silverman at times, Grant continued managing negotiations, even preventing the deal from collapsing. Grant’s intervention included persuading Barnett to meet Silverman’s demands after she threatened to relist the property. This effort not only kept the transaction alive but also secured Silverman an additional $1 million for furniture and fixtures, according to legal filings.
The sale closed in August, with ownership transferring to corporate entities linked to Barnett. Nevertheless, Silverman declined to pay Sotheby’s commission. Sotheby’s lawsuit was filed in New York Supreme Court, County of New York. Silverman and her LLC have since hired legal counsel and filed a motion to dismiss the complaint. Requests for comment from both sides have not been returned.
Real estate industry observers note that the $56 million sale ranked sixth among the priciest deals in the Hamptons during 2025. Meanwhile, Barnett and his wife Sloan Barnett, a lawyer and journalist, are active high-profile buyers, having acquired and sold multi-million-dollar waterfront properties in Miami over the past few years.