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Holiday Closure

The OREA office will close for the holidays at 12 p.m. Tuesday, December 24th.  Normal business hours will resume on Thursday, January 2nd.  Happy Holidays!

April 8th - 2007

Merv's Column: Seller must honour agreement

The seller listed his property for sale with a real estate salesperson and retained a lawyer to act for him in connection with the sale of the property. During the listing period he sold the property pursuant to a private agreement of purchase and sale.

The seller listed his property for sale with a real estate salesperson and retained a lawyer to act for him in connection with the sale of the property. During the listing period he sold the property pursuant to a private agreement of purchase and sale.
 
The real estate salesperson heard of the private sale, called the lawyer’s office and misrepresented that she was a real estate salesperson acting for the seller in relation to the private sale and asked for a copy of the "private offer." A secretary in the employ of the lawyer forwarded a copy of the agreement for the private sale. The real estate salesperson made a claim for commission against the seller and was successful in attaining a judgment in the amount of $10,000.
 
The seller sued his lawyer and the trial judge found that he was negligent in disclosing the private agreement. The appeal judge decided that even if there was negligence that did not cause any damage to the seller. The fact of the sale would eventually become a matter of public record and the agent would have pursued the matter, the seller would have been compelled to testify and would have been obliged to tell the truth. The cause of the “damages” is that the seller entered into the listing agreement and agreed to make the payment. “It does not sit well with me that a person in the position of the plaintiff can enter into an agreement, set out to deprive the other party to their entitlement to commission under the agreement and then when he is caught shift the loss to the law firm.”

Gidda v Malik 2006 CanLII 35622

MERV’S COMMENTS
There are some amazing stories in our courts – and this is another one. The seller agreed to pay the salesperson and then back-doored her. When he is caught, he blames his lawyer and hires more lawyers to fight in the courts.
 
It would have been simpler for the seller to honour his legal and moral obligations and pay the REALTOR® what he agreed to pay her.

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The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, and the REALTOR® logo are controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals who are members of CREA. The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license.

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