From left, Terrance Hunt, Shane Ozment and Chris Cowan. (BusinessDen file photos)
After two-and-a-half years of interstate court battles, three local commercial real estate brokers who angered one large firm by leaving it for another have settled their disputes.
It was a winding journey for Terrance Hunt, Shane Ozment and Chris Cowan that ping-ponged between courts in Denver and New York, centered around bold allegations of looting and betrayal, and deviated into debates about burner phones and text messages.
Then, on Dec. 1, it all came to a quiet end with a confidential settlement in New York.
A lot of losses
In May 2021, CBRE proudly announced that nine brokers would be leaving Newmark for CBRE, including three — Hunt, Ozment and Cowan — who specialized in pricey apartment building sales in Colorado would be joining CBRE as vice chairmen.
That same day, Newmark sued the top-performing trio in a New York court, accusing them of breaking non-compete clauses as they “looted” the firm. The brokers then countersued Newmark, alleging in a Denver court that the unfair clauses were unenforceable.
Legal losses piled up quickly for the brokers as their attorneys complained that Newmark was trying to make the legal proceedings “as expensive as possible” for them.
First, in July 2021, a New York judge barred the brokers from working in Colorado for one year. Then, when they challenged that ruling, an appeals court sided against them.
When they tried to countersue Newmark in New York the next year, their countersuit was rejected by a judge who called it “clearly tactical and devoid of merit.” Meanwhile, their lawsuit against Newmark in Denver was thrown out by a judge here in August 2022.
Around that same time, and as they were allowed to return to work following their one-year injunction, the three sued former mentors of theirs at Apartment Realty Advisors of Colorado, accusing the defendants of tricking them into signing non-compete clauses when ARA Colorado was sold to Newmark. That lawsuit was thrown out just four months later.
Meanwhile, Newmark’s case against the trio trudged on in New York City.
‘This over-litigated case’
“Cowan here new burner phone,” a text message read. Another said, “Chris Cowan #burner!”
Last year, Newmark’s attorneys alleged those messages, sent from Cowan’s cell phone during the one-year stretch when he was barred from brokering, were evidence that he evaded the ban. Cowan denied wrongdoing and Newmark later dropped the matter.
Then, in April of this year, Newmark claimed that “the individual defendants fed one another testimony by text message” and were also fed an answer by one of their lawyers during a remote hearing almost two years before. Judge Barry Ostrager agreed with the latter accusation and gave Newmark permission to mention it to jurors during a trial.
As the case dragged on this summer and Ostrager’s end-of-year retirement neared, the judge voiced his weariness at what he called “this over-litigated case.” At a June hearing, he said, “To say that this case has been over-litigated would be an understatement” and then added, “With all due respect to counsel … this is simply not the greatest story ever told.”
“The objective is to commence the trial,” he lectured an attorney for Newmark this summer. “It isn’t to drill to the center of the universe and depose every human being who had anything to do with the fact pattern and review every document that every human being ever saw.”
In September, attorneys for all sides told the judge they had reached a settlement. In November, a lawyer for Newmark said that a “settlement payment is due later this week.” When that payment was received, the parties asked Ostrager to close the case. He did Dec. 1.
The brokers, Newmark and their attorneys all declined requests to discuss the case.
From left, Terrance Hunt, Shane Ozment and Chris Cowan. (BusinessDen file photos)
After two-and-a-half years of interstate court battles, three local commercial real estate brokers who angered one large firm by leaving it for another have settled their disputes.
It was a winding journey for Terrance Hunt, Shane Ozment and Chris Cowan that ping-ponged between courts in Denver and New York, centered around bold allegations of looting and betrayal, and deviated into debates about burner phones and text messages.
Then, on Dec. 1, it all came to a quiet end with a confidential settlement in New York.
A lot of losses
In May 2021, CBRE proudly announced that nine brokers would be leaving Newmark for CBRE, including three — Hunt, Ozment and Cowan — who specialized in pricey apartment building sales in Colorado would be joining CBRE as vice chairmen.
That same day, Newmark sued the top-performing trio in a New York court, accusing them of breaking non-compete clauses as they “looted” the firm. The brokers then countersued Newmark, alleging in a Denver court that the unfair clauses were unenforceable.
Legal losses piled up quickly for the brokers as their attorneys complained that Newmark was trying to make the legal proceedings “as expensive as possible” for them.
First, in July 2021, a New York judge barred the brokers from working in Colorado for one year. Then, when they challenged that ruling, an appeals court sided against them.
When they tried to countersue Newmark in New York the next year, their countersuit was rejected by a judge who called it “clearly tactical and devoid of merit.” Meanwhile, their lawsuit against Newmark in Denver was thrown out by a judge here in August 2022.
Around that same time, and as they were allowed to return to work following their one-year injunction, the three sued former mentors of theirs at Apartment Realty Advisors of Colorado, accusing the defendants of tricking them into signing non-compete clauses when ARA Colorado was sold to Newmark. That lawsuit was thrown out just four months later.
Meanwhile, Newmark’s case against the trio trudged on in New York City.
‘This over-litigated case’
“Cowan here new burner phone,” a text message read. Another said, “Chris Cowan #burner!”
Last year, Newmark’s attorneys alleged those messages, sent from Cowan’s cell phone during the one-year stretch when he was barred from brokering, were evidence that he evaded the ban. Cowan denied wrongdoing and Newmark later dropped the matter.
Then, in April of this year, Newmark claimed that “the individual defendants fed one another testimony by text message” and were also fed an answer by one of their lawyers during a remote hearing almost two years before. Judge Barry Ostrager agreed with the latter accusation and gave Newmark permission to mention it to jurors during a trial.
As the case dragged on this summer and Ostrager’s end-of-year retirement neared, the judge voiced his weariness at what he called “this over-litigated case.” At a June hearing, he said, “To say that this case has been over-litigated would be an understatement” and then added, “With all due respect to counsel … this is simply not the greatest story ever told.”
“The objective is to commence the trial,” he lectured an attorney for Newmark this summer. “It isn’t to drill to the center of the universe and depose every human being who had anything to do with the fact pattern and review every document that every human being ever saw.”
In September, attorneys for all sides told the judge they had reached a settlement. In November, a lawyer for Newmark said that a “settlement payment is due later this week.” When that payment was received, the parties asked Ostrager to close the case. He did Dec. 1.
The brokers, Newmark and their attorneys all declined requests to discuss the case.
