To outsiders, the field of real estate consists of things like buildings, leases, land prices or cap rates. But insiders know that the industry is a drama filled with street brawlers, hustlers and swashbucklers all competing over a sliver of land or a corner of the business to assert their dominance. As such, lawsuits are common.
Here are some of real estate’s juiciest lawsuits in 2025.
Mark Nussbaum Sued Over Escrow Accounts
Mark Nussbaum’s legal woes gripped New York’s real estate community in 2025.
It all began when a nursing home executive, Jacob Sod, sued Nussbaum for $15 million, claiming money he put into Nussbaum Lowinger’s escrow accounts went missing.
The suit revealed a major problem: Nussbaum was unable to pay clients who deposited money into his firm’s escrow accounts. A week later, Nussbaum shut down his law firm.
Sod’s lawsuit pulled back the curtain about Nussbaum’s operations as a bridge lender and fixer to real estate dealmakers. Nussbaum would allegedly use escrow funds as a way to “show capital,” to prove to a seller or a lender that they were capitalized.
The lawsuit was the first of many as Nussbaum’s clients scrambled to claw back their funds. A few months later, Nussbaum was charged with grand larceny by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office. He has pleaded not guilty.
Josh Flagg Sues Stephen Kotler for Alleged Hacking
“Million Dollar Listing” star Josh Flagg stirred up some drama this summer.
The Compass agent alleged that his emails were hacked. At first, he did not name the alleged participants who accessed his private and confidential information stored on his computer.
But in an amended complaint brought in March, Flagg named Douglas Elliman’s former Western Region CEO Stephen Kotler as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Flagg sued for invasion of privacy and violating the state’s Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act. The agent alleged Kotler participated in the hack by using an encrypted email service to access and disseminate Flagg’s private and confidential electronic information.
But Flagg dropped the claims against Kotler just months later.
“Although Mr. Flagg initially believed Stephen Kotler was responsible, after further investigation and discovery, Mr. Flagg has confirmed that Mr. Kotler is not the party responsible for this conduct,” attorneys for Flagg and Kotler wrote in a joint statement at the time.
Inside a Real Estate Fight that Preceded South Shore Raid
A national story about a controversial immigration raid quickly turned into a real estate story.
Residents of a building in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood were awakened in late September when white vans surrounded their building. Officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal agencies proceeded to detain most of the residents. Ultimately, 37 people were arrested.
The Department of Homeland Security said the people arrested were “believed to be involved in drug trafficking and distribution, weapons crimes and immigration violators.” The arrests led to condemnation from the Governor J.B. Pritzker and others on social media.
But a brewing lawsuit shed light on alleged criminal activity at the building. More significantly, it showed the city was aware of these issues.
Wells Fargo had filed a foreclosure lawsuit on the property’s landlord, alleging missing loan payments on the property as well as several others in Chicago and across the U.S. In addition to a loan default, the lawsuit mentioned the property’s ongoing issues with crime. The lawsuit claimed the building was unsecured, allowing non-residents to access the building, and there had been an uptick in criminal activity and shootings at the property.
Wells Fargo said the city of Chicago had received reports from a tenants rights group and the Alderman’s office that “conditions continue to worsen at the property,” according to the lawsuit.
A Cook County judge required the tenants to move out in December, citing the conditions of the building and code violations.
Don King Slapped With $5M Foreclosure Lawsuit
The celebrity boxing promoter has dealt with his fair share of fights.
Don King was hit with a $5.3 million foreclosure lawsuit from his lender Blueprint Capital in March. The lender alleged King stopped making interest payments on a loan for a 46,467-square-foot warehouse in Broward County.
“I don’t care if you’re Don King or Mike Tyson, if you don’t pay your obligations, you’re going to get sued,” said David Haber, Blueprint Capital’s attorney at the time.
Don King dodged the blow from his lender when he sold the property in July for $11 million.
King’s firm paid $3 million for the building in 2000, records show. The 4.4-acre site was the longtime home for Don King Productions, which promoted some of the biggest boxing matches in the sport.
Compass Sues Zillow Over “Anticompetitive Tactics”
Compass v. Zillow was the legal fight of the year.
Compass made a power play in real estate listings, alleging that Zillow used its monopoly to prevent competition in the homebuying and selling marketplace.
The dispute is centered around Zillow’s move to restrict private listings. Compass alleged Zillow enacted a policy where the platform would block listings that were not uploaded to the public database, known as the MLS, and published on Zillow within 24 hours – was an anti-competitive practice. This practice has been referred to as a “Zillow Ban.”
The brokerage also named eXp Realty and Redfin as co-conspirators
Compass has been seeking to promote its listings through its own marketing channel to Compass agents and buyers working with Compass agents.
Zillow called Compass’ claims unfounded.
“At the heart of this issue is a simple principle: when a listing is publicly marketed, it should be accessible to all buyers — across all platforms, including Zillow,” the statement said.
Executives from the two companies appeared in a federal court in New York in November as Compass sought a preliminary injunction to stop Zillow’s listing enforcement. During the hearing, Compass CEO Robert Refkin testified, claiming that Compass “would have grown much more if there was no ‘Zillow Ban,’” he said. “This was the whole strategy.”
The judge has not yet ruled on the order.