Ande Sedwick of Nest Seekers International is suing the brokerage, her ex-boyfriend Ravi Gulivindala, a senior vice president at the firm, and “Million Dollar Listing” star Ryan Serhant, alleging her career at the company suffered after she reported Gulivanadala’s domestic abuse to police.
Sedwick accuses Gulivindala of abusing his position as her superior by pressuring her in what became a two-and-a-half-year relationship.
The lawsuit claims Gulivandala assaulted her in April, after which Sedwick received an order of protection, which Gulivandala ultimately violated.
Sedwick still works at the firm, but is being treated as “persona non grata,” according to the suit. Ryan Serhant, a star of Bravo’s hit real estate reality show, refused to give Sedwick an office further away from Gulivandala, the suit alleges.
Sedwick’s lawyer also claimed that Gulivandala’s counter-accusation, that Sedwick stole checks for him, is a fabrication, and part of his retaliation, the New York Post reported.
Gulivandala admitted to the relationship but denied ever having become violent with Sedwick. He called the lawsuit “a form of extortion.”
“The claims against Ryan Serhant are completely fabricated,” said Serhant’s lawyer, Marty Singer, in a statement. “Ryan has absolutely nothing to do with the personal domestic dispute between Ande Sedwick and Ravi Gulivindala. There are hundreds of agents that work for Nest Seekers and Ryan was singled out simply because they wanted to use his name to capture headlines. Furthermore, Ryan is an Associate Broker at Nest Seekers, and as such does not have the authority to dictate which offices Nest Seekers’ employees work from. If they repeat these fabricated allegations against Ryan outside of the complaint, they will be sued for defamation.”
Sedwick will appear in court later this month to answer the check-stealing charge. She joined Nest Seekers in 2011, left in March 2014 for stints at Keller Williams and Town Residential before returning to Nest Seekers in March 2015.
Back in April, The Real Deal reported that a state agency was investigating Nest Seekers for presenting brokers as licenced even though their credentials had expired. [NYP] – Ariel Stulberg