Black agent wins $788K from Brown Harris Stevens in discrimination case

Brown Harris Stevens of the Hamptons wrongfully terminated one of its agents after she reported facing racial discrimination, a federal judge ruled last week.

Shauncy Claud, who is Black, sued the brokerage in 2018, alleging her direct manager made comments about her race and treated her differently from her white colleagues, and that she was let go in retaliation for complaining about it to a senior executive.

The judge, Nina Morrison, awarded Claud $788,000 in compensatory and punitive damages, including funds for back pay and emotional distress, according to the decision filed in the Eastern District of New York.

The brokerage denied wrongdoing and said it would appeal.

“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,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

The ruling follows a trial that concluded in February. Claud was represented by attorneys Oliver Koppell, who previously served as the New York state attorney general, and Dan Schreck. Schreck said only “one unrelated claim” in the case was dismissed, not the case itself.

Claud, a Southampton native, joined BHS in November 2016 following two years at Town & Country. Claud was the only Black agent at its six Hamptons offices, which had only one Black employee.

In the lawsuit, Claud alleged that her manager, senior executive director Robert Nelson, made “uncomfortable” comments to her about her race, including telling her she was “the only Black agent in the Hamptons” when she asked to have a conversation about her work.

In another instance, Nelson allegedly referred to Claud as a “pitbull” who “likes to take things from others.”

Claud claimed that Nelson repeatedly dismissed her requests for mentorship and guidance and reassigned her work to other agents.

She also said Nelson failed to help protect her exclusive listings. When Claud was hired as an exclusive agent for a Southampton property at 117 Pulaski Street, another agent, Christopher Burnside, listed the home as an open listing — a move that violated company policy and would have diverted 10 percent of the commission to him.

Nelson allegedly refused to update the listing until the owner complained. The home sold for $1.5 million in February 2021, according to Zillow.

Claud eventually shared her concerns with Aspasia “Cia” Comnas, the senior managing director, who she said promised to help her “come up with a game plan.” Comnas denied ever discussing Claud’s claims of racial discrimination with her.

Two weeks later, Comnas fired Claud without having discussed with her the possibility of termination.

Claud’s dismissal followed a tense altercation with the daughter of one of her clients, Cassandra Brown. Claud claimed that Brown did not want her to share details about a listing with anyone, including her daughter, Karen Ham. Claud alleged that when she refused to discuss the property on a phone call with Ham, Ham yelled and cursed at her, so she hung up.

At the trial, Comnas testified that both Ham and Brown called her to complain about Claud’s behavior, though the judge stated that the evidence and testimony indicated Comnas spoke only with Ham.

After that conversation, Comnas sent an email to Nelson saying that she needed to “fire Shauncy ASAP” due to her “outrageously rude treatment” of Brown and Ham.

“The client did not want Shauncy 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,” Comnas wrote in the email. “Shauncy is someone who could easily try to break in and do damage after being fired.”

Claud spent two years with Nest Seekers International following her termination, though she only worked full time for about a month. She claimed that her termination from BHS damaged her reputation and she wasn’t able to secure the same amount of business.

In fact, she said, it “ruined” her real estate career.

In 2019, Claud left Southampton — where she grew up and where her parents and grandparents still live — and moved to Atlanta.

“Home kind of reminds me of that awful situation,” she said.

This story was updated with a comment from attorney Dan Schreck.

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