Cutting luxury listings down to size

WITH his close ties to Hollywood's celebrity elite and a film-star persona, broker Chris Cortazzo is the king of Malibu real estate. As a top salesman in the country for the brokerage firm Coldwell Banker Real Estate, and with a long list of prominent clients including Ellen DeGeneres, Pamela Anderson, Kid Rock and Josh Groban, Mr Cortazzo has sold about US$2 billion worth of Malibu mansions over the last 15 years.

But these days, Mr Cortazzo and Coldwell find themselves caught in the middle of a legal battle wending its way through California's courts that could have major implications for many of the state's 400,000 real estate agents and brokers.

At the heart of the dispute is the long-running tussle over square footage, and what is - or is not - included in those measurements.