Scott Durkin, C.E.O. of Douglas Elliman Realty, Fired Amid Company Turmoil

The president and chief executive of the Douglas Elliman brokerage has been terminated, less than a week after the sudden retirement of Howard Lorber, the parent company’s chief executive officer.

Scott Durkin’s exit was disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday morning.

In a statement to The New York Times, Michael Liebowitz, who stepped into the chief executive role last week after Mr. Lorber’s exit, said that Richard Ferrari, who currently oversees the real estate company’s divisions in New York City and the Northeast, will take over Mr. Durkin’s role at the brokerage.

Douglas Elliman Inc. is one of the nation’s largest real estate companies. Mr. Durkin served as president and chief executive officer of its brokerage arm, Douglas Elliman Realty, reporting to Mr. Lorber until last week.

Mr. Durkin spent nine years at Douglas Elliman, joining the company as an executive vice president in 2015 after more than two decades at the Corcoran Group, a rival real estate company. He rose to Elliman’s chief operating officer in less than a year, and he assumed the role of president in 2017.

Mr. Durkin’s attorney said they planned to contest the circumstances of his exit. “In our world, firing and termination connote ‘for cause.’ Whereas no reason for Mr. Durkin’s abrupt separation was stated in the Company’s SEC Filings, suffice it to say that Mr. Durkin never at any time engaged in conduct justifying a firing or termination nor was he ever apprised that his employment was in peril,” said John D. Singer, an attorney with Singer Deutsch LLP, in a statement to The Times.