'Justice Has Prevailed': Woman Wins Suit Against LI Real Estate Firm

BRIDGEHAMPTON, NY — A woman has emerged victorious in her years-long suit against a Hamptons real estate firm that she said terminated her in retaliation for a complaint that she'd made about a pattern of racial discrimination at the company.

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, by Shauncy Claud against Brown Harris Stevens of the Hamptons, LLC. before U.S. District Judge Nina R. Morrison.

According to the suit, on June 30, 2017, her "emerging career in the real estate industry came to a sudden and unexpected halt."

Eight months before, Claud became the only Black agent associated with BHSH, a real estate firm with six offices in the region.

Claud, who was born and raised in Southampton, "had the ambition, interpersonal skills, and local contacts that were well suited to her chosen career," the suit maintained. "But after a single phone call in which a previously unknown third party allegedly complained to BHSH's senior executive about Claude's 'rudeness,' Claude was summarily terminated."

She was not asked by anyone at BHSH to provide her own version of what may have transpired, nor was she given a reason for her sudden firing, the suit maintained. "Instead, despite an otherwise unblemished record over the preceding eight months, she was told only in a curt email that the firm was 'not the right fit' for her."

In March 2018, Claud sued BHSH, asserting "that she was treated differently because of her race than were similarly situated white agents at the firm, and that her termination was an act of retaliation for a complaint she had made to BHSH's senior executive manager in the region about an apparent pattern of race discrimination by her direct supervisor, which Claud had presented in a private meeting with a senior executive just two weeks before she was fired."

BHSH moved for summary judgment; Judge Dennis Hurley granted it in part and denied it in part, finding that there was a genuine, disputed issue of material fact on Claud's retaliatory termination claim, the suit read.

Morrison found that Claud "readily met her burden of proving that BHSH's termination was retaliatory," the suit said.

Despite the fact that she was an independent contractor who could be fired at will, for any non-discriminatory reason, even an arbitrary one, federal law protects a person who engages in a protected activity, such as complaining about racial discrimination by a supervisor — and is retaliated against as a result, Morrison said.

Morrison then laid out the reasons why BHSH's "preferred reason for Claud's termination was wholly pretextual." Morrison found that, "due to BHSH's violation of her right to contract and the substantial harms caused, Claud is entitled to an award of both compensatury and punitive damages."

Claud was ultimately awarded $800,000 in damages, she said.

"Brown Harris Stevens has always championed nondiscrimination in all settings and was disappointed in the current ruling, particularly since a prior decision in the case had dismissed any discrimination claims. Brown Harris Stevens will proceed to file a notice of appeal," said Ashley S. Murphy, senior vice-president of communications for Brown Harris Stevens.

Claud's attorneys Oliver Koppell and Dan Schreck of the Law Offices of G. Oliver Koppell & Associates in New York responded to the statement from Brown Harris Stevens: "Just as their witnesses were found to have done at trial, once again Brown Harris Stevens of the Hamptons fabricates the truth. Ms. Claud's case has never been dismissed, only one unrelated claim long before the time of trial."

The findings of fact then said Claud, who decided to pursue a career in real estate so that she could succeed and "do very, very well financially while remaining close to home" obtained her license. After first working with another firm, she moved to BHSH in 2016.

According to Senior Executive Director Robert Nelson's testimony, Claud brought "great energy" and a "terrific demeanor" to her work, the suit said; she attended staff meetings. Former BHSH social media manager Vanessa Leggard said Claud was "doing a very good job."

Claud, the suit said, "hit the ground running" and netted four exclusive sales listings.

Nelson, the suit went on, "made comments throughout Claud's employment that made Claud feel 'uncomfortable.' As Claud recounted, she once went into Nelson's office to ask him a question about her work and he pivoted the conversation to a statement that she was 'the only Black agent in the Hamptons,'" the suit read. "Whether or not that accurately reflected the (under) representation of Black agents in the Hamptons real estate industry at that time, when Nelson invoked Claud's race and singularity for no apparent purpose, it is no surprise that Claud was taken aback by his remark."

The suit discussed another instance when Nelson and Claud discussed her efforts to update "open" BHSH rentals that had been inactive for over a year, after which any agent could attempt to represent a listing's owner. "During that conversation, Nelson stunned Claud by telling her that she was 'a pit bull' who 'liked to take things from others,'" the suit said. For obvious reasons, Claud found it "offensive that her white supervisor 'referred to [her] as a dog' while discussing her professional conduct and practices in a supervisory setting," the suit said.

The suit said that according to Nelson, Claud never complained to him that he was not providing enough support. The suit said that he "love [d] sitting down with anyone to go over ideas," to "increase their business" and said that the two "had engaging conversations."

Claud, however, maintained that he didn't provide basic guidance or mentorship and when she attempted to garner that guidance, was met with "largely dismissive or outright hostile conduct on his part," the suit said.

In one example, Claud said she had spoken to a homeowner who had given her the pricing of his home, previously allowing her to update the listing and work on it. Claud went into Nelson's office to ask a question and saw that Nelson had emailed another agent, "Hey, you should look at this,'" the suit read.

That agent, the suit said, ultimately got credit for the work Claud had done.

In another instance, Claud called a homeowner who had a listing without an agent's name; the homeowner told her about the listing, which she updated — Nelson then gave the listing to another agent, the suit said.

"These reassignments happened 'repeatedly,'" the suit said.

Nelson would also not make himself available to Claud and homeowners to assist in securing listings, the suit said.

Claud went to the president of BHSH, and said that she was not getting the assistance needed from Nelson; he then met with Claud at least biweekly to provide her with additional support, the suit said.

Claud's name was not on the "Up Board," a schedule that agents found valuable for securing leads, the suit said; agents were included on the board at the direction of management. Claud's name, the suit said, was absent at least four or five times from that Up Board, the suit said.

Nelson also did not help Claud with "comps" or pricing a client's home correctly, the suit said; at one point she emailed him for help and he told her her email was "as lengthy as a book" and to "figure it out."

At one point a senior BHSH offered to "escalate" Nelson's "lack of support," but she was fearful of "retaliation," the suit said.

Claud experienced repeated negative treatment by her direct supervisor, Nelson, the suit said. In 2017, she decided to time to raise her concerns with Nelson's direct supervisor.

"At the time, BHSH had no written policies that advised sales agents or employees of their rights to be free from discriminatory treatment," the suit said.

Claud testified that she raised her concerns about Nelson to his direct supervisor in a "private, in-person meeting on June 14, 2017," the suit said. "Believing that she could 'trust'" that supervisor "to 'handle it with integrity,' Claud called" the supervisor "that morning and asked if she might be able to speak with her about a 'private matter.'" The supervisor agreed and the two met; in the meeting, Claud said, "To be honest with you [Nelson is] making me — I feel uncomfortable with my race [.]" the suit said.

The takeaway, the suit said, was that the supervisor told her if he was not helping her, she would; the suit maintained that the supervisor in quesiton denied Claud had ever approached her with concerns about Nelson. When shown phone records from that morning consistent with what Claud maintained, the supervisor said she could not recall if she'd met with Claud that day, the suit said, adding that the supervisor said at no point, did Claud ever speak to her about potentially discriminatory treatment by Nelson.

The judge said she found "highly credible" Claud's detailed, measured testimony. The judge said she found it unlikely that the supervisor would forget such a meeting since Claud was the only Black real estate agent at any of BHSH's offices, and a new one, at that. Meanwhile, the supervisor had recommended longtime colleague Nelson for a promotion to senior managing director just two years before, the suit said.

The supervisor "would have been well aware of the potential legal liability BHSH faced if Claud's allegations were true but the company failed to take prompt, meaningful action to remedy them," the suit said.

Shortly after her June 14 meeting with the supervisor, Claud went away for about a week on a pre-planned vacation and returned, only to be concerned that she hadn't heard from the owner of one of her listings. Her efforts to reach the owner "ultimately led to a series of phone calls and emails resulting in Claud's termination," the suit said.

In an email to Nelson, his supervisor said the owner of the property had called to say that Claud was "outrageously rude." The email added: "It's time for her to go before she can do any more damage," the suit said.

The email also said that the client did not want Claud to know she had complained "as they were a bit afraid of her — so we will have to wait a day or two and then fire her after we have changed the Southampton office lock. Shauncy is someone who could easily try to break in and do damage after being fire," the email said, according to the suit.

Nelson, the suit said, did not encourage rhe supervisor to speak to Claud and get her side of the story.

According to the suit, the next day, Claud opened her email and found an email to the entire BHSH staff, saying that she "was no longer associated with the company."

She received an email saying she had been terminated, effective immediately, and that her personal belongings were placed in a box by the staff. "While BHS was not the right fit, we nonetheless wish you well in your future endeavors," the email from the supervisor said, according to the suit.

Although she tried to stay in real estate after what had transpired, with her reputation "tarnished," Claud's "trajectory changed," the suit said; she had become increasing "sad," "depressed" and anxious" in the wake of her termination and "stalled career," the suit said. A former "star athlete," that changed after her experience, the suit said. She also checks work emails frequently today because she lives in fear that someone might treat her that cruelly and maliciously again, the suit said.

Claud also experienced "clinically significant depression and anxiety for an extended period" after her firing, the suit said. And, along with the impacts on her physical and mental health, the suit said that her wrongful termination deprived Claud of her dream of building a real estate career in the town where she'd grown up.

She currently lives in Atlanta.

While BHSH points to her current academic success as an indication that she suffered "no impediment" to continuing and improving her life, the judge rejected that statement, noting that Claud suffered insomnia, a lack of interest in her usual activities, feelings of shame and worthelessness and hypervigilance, the suit said.

"That is a significant and compensable injury, regardless of whether her condition improved in the years to come," the suit said.

The judge added: "BHSH's conduct was indeed reprehensible."

Nelson declined to comment on the matter.

Speaking with Patch, Claud discussed her feelings upon learning the judge's decision: "Brown Harris Stevens treated me very badly and unfairly. This experience changed me because it showed me that it’s not acceptable under any circumstances to be mistreated and have your rights violated. It taught me it’s so important to stand up for yourself. This entire case and outcome reinforces how important accountability is and I will carry this principle forever now."

Winning the suit feels "surreal," Claud said. Her attorneys, she added, believed in her from the beginning; she said she was grateful for their countless hours of hard work.

"They showed me that it was alright to tell my story, and encouraged me over the last seven years to just tell the truth and there will be an optimistic outcome. Here we are. I am so relieved, happy, and ecstatic having won," she said. "I hope I will encourage others who are victims to speak out as well. This experience has been life-changing for me and will continue to define my journey from this point forward in such a phenomenal way."

Claud said she feels discrimination still exists in a very real way on the East End. "I don’t get the impression that diversity and representation matters very much or has been important on the East End. If it was, you’d see a greater minority presence within businesses in the Hamptons and at all levels. With that being said, I’m really hoping my case will bring awareness to the importance of treating people of all races respectfully, lawfully, and how important it is to embrace diversity."

While the monetary settlement has meaning and is impactful to her life, Claud said it's far more critical that she has potentially "created change for scores of people in the future. This is a wonderful outcome that I worked so hard for. The outcome speaks for itself. As the judge stated herself, 'Brown Harris Steven’s conduct was sufficiently reprehensible and in need of deterrence.' I am so glad justice and accountability has prevailed and has set a precedent moving forward. This will be far more beneficial to our community and I am excited for the changes to come."

The judge, Claud added, "clearly saw that I was singled out as the only Black agent. It is only if this kind of conduct is ended by decisions like in my case that minorities will be able to succeed in getting the benefits that all Americans should be awarded."

She added: The key ruling that the judge made was that I was retaliated against for standing up for my rights and complaining of discrimination. This tells all minorities employees that they should not be afraid to complain of discrimination and demand equal treatment."

Her attorneys added: "It feels wonderful to obtain justice for a client who was egregiously wronged by the defendant."

Leggard, who testified for Claud, also spoke out on the victory: "I am inspired by Shauncy; she reminds me of my daughters. When I saw what she went through it let me know that this could be my daughter; they’re around the same age."

Leggard and her family have fought hard for her daughters to have equal treatment during their education in the Hamptons.

Of Claude, she said: "I'm so proud of her, that she stayed the course. I know it was hard and I know it wasn’t easy, but the truth is always on your side . You can tell the story 50,000 times, and it will always be the same story — because it’s the truth."