Luxury Condo Sales Manager Sues Corcoran

The sales manager at a new condominium designed by André Balazs and Jean Nouvel is suing the real estate company in charge of the sales, charging they have not paid him nearly $1 million in commission and a promised bonus.

Wilbur Gonzalez, who is known for his high-profile clients, sold 90% of the condominium units at the building at 40 Mercer St. "in record time," according to the lawsuit, which was filed yesterday against the Corcoran Group and the Sunshine Group in New York State Court in Manhattan.

The glass and steel building is located in SoHo, and its units were priced between $2 million and $12 million, the suit says.

Mr. Gonzalez sold 90% of the condos within 12 months, which entitled him to a $250,000 merit bonus in addition to his commission from units he sold, but, to date, Mr. Gonzalez has only received one-fourth of his $715,000 commission and none of his bonus since June 2006, according to the suit.

A spokesman for Corcoran cited a company policy that prohibits it from commenting on litigation. The president of Corcoran, Pamela Liebman, was traveling out of the country and could not be reached for comment.