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Sara Burack, the Netflix “Million Dollar Beach House” star killed in a hit-and-run crash in Hampton Bays last week, had referenced a $200,000 real estate commission dispute in her desperate plea for financial help months before her death.
In a failed GoFundMe campaign, the glitzy real estate agent pointed to a 2022 Suffolk County Supreme Court case involving her former employer Nest Seekers International and Douglas Elliman as part of what she described as her ongoing legal battles.
Burack, 40, was struck by a vehicle while walking near Villa Paul restaurant at 133 Montauk Highway West about 2:45 a.m. on June 19. She died from her injuries later that day at Stony Brook University Hospital.
Marine biologist Amanda Kempton, 32, of Virginia, stands charged with leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident involving a fatality, following her arrest on Friday. She pleaded not guilty and was released from police custody after relatives, who live in Manorville, put up collateral in lieu of $100,000 bail at her arraignment in Southampton Town Justice Court.
Commission battle between real estate giants
The court case Burack referenced involves a $200,000 commission dispute from the sale of the multi-million dollar property at 185 Bishops Lane in Southampton. McAuliffe Law PLLC filed an interpleader lawsuit in March 2022, stating it held the commission in escrow but faced “competing and conflicting demands” from both Douglas Elliman and Nest Seekers, a real estate agency for upscale properties in Manhattan, the Hamptons and across the world.
The law firm said it “cannot make a payment or delivery of the commission at issue without the risk of potential liability from the adverse claimant.”
Douglas Elliman fired back with serious allegations against Nest Seekers. In court papers filed in April 2022, the company claimed it had an exclusive listing agreement with the property seller, Emanon East Corp, and accused Nest Seekers of deliberately interfering with that contract.
“NESTSEEKERS INTERNATIONAL LLC intentionally procured non-party Emanon East Corp to breach of the contract without justification,” Douglas Elliman alleged in its cross-claim.
The company also accused Nest Seekers of violating New York Real Estate License Law and sought damages of at least $200,000, “plus reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs and related expenses.”
Douglas Elliman claimed it “fully performed” its listing agreement while Nest Seekers “had knowledge of the ERSA” but interfered anyway.
Failed GoFundMe campaign
In August 2024, Burack launched a GoFundMe campaign seeking $276,000 but raised no money. In the campaign, she pointed to multiple Suffolk County court cases, including the commission dispute, as part of her legal troubles.
“Details can be viewed on the Suffolk County court Website Under Dockets 605747/2022, 206385/2022 which further explains the background of my story,” she wrote in the campaign.
She wrote further about battling “defamation” and dealing with “a critical health situation due to unethical conduct and civil rights violations by public officials and attorneys.” The campaign referenced multiple Suffolk County court cases and claimed “misconduct within NYS courts and large corporations.”
“I urgently need emergency funds to continue my fight for justice,” Burack wrote, while noting that complaints had been “ignored by the court system and my constitutional rights violated.”
Moreover, she wrote, “Additional issues include the misuse of charitable funds for personal gain, online and mail consumer fraud, terrorism, contamination of the food supply in the Hamptons Community, and obstruction of my woman-owned business.”
Reached Tuesday, Geoff Gifkins, the Hamptons regional manager for Nest Seekers, told Greater Long Island that the agency does not wish to comment on the lawsuit.
“This is an extremely difficult time for Sara’s family and out of respect for them at this time, we will not comment further,” he said. “The dispute regarding the commission is ongoing.”
Netflix fame
Burack appeared on Netflix’s “Million Dollar Beach House,” which aired for one season in 2020 and featured luxury real estate agents in the Hamptons market.
The commission dispute case remains active in Suffolk County court. Court records show the interpleader action was designed to let the court determine who was entitled to the $200,000 while protecting the law firm from liability to either party.
Burack’s longtime close friend and colleague Paulette Corsair said she knew of the lawsuits that Burack referred to in her GoFundMe effort, but did not wish to comment. She instead wanted to know more about Kempton’s whereabouts on Wednesday night and in the early morning hours Thursday before she allegedly struck and killed her friend.
Such details remain unclear.
Corsair told Greater Long Island that Burack had not worked in the last year, and had been spending a lot of time at the local public library researching a potential career change. She described her friend as a dynamic personality with a strong social presence.
“She was larger than life. Wherever we went, she would know at least 10 people,” said Corsair of Southampton. “She had this confidence about her. Everybody just liked to be with her.”
Top image: Sara Burack and a court document from a commission dispute she cited in a failed GoFundMe gripe before her death. (Instagram/@luxgrouppalmbeach)
