Legal Case Summaries

Kansas federal court upholds jury verdict that determined that a real estate licensee was 85% responsible for the buyer’s losses, which occurred when the buyer transferred purchase money to fake account after licensee allegedly forwarded email containing fake wiring instructions to the buyer.

Pennsylvania court rules that state’s real estate licensing scheme is constitutional and so dismisses challenge brought by part-time property manager who claimed the licensing requirements were overly burdensome.

Idaho bankruptcy court rejects trustee’s claim for the portion of a commission that the broker paid to team leader, finding that the debtor team members had no legal claim to that portion of the commission.

California court reverses trial court and sends lawsuit against a listing broker back to the lower court for further proceedings in order to consider allegations that the sellers had not received the promised priority when reselling their timeshare interest. 
 

The Federal Trade Commission has determined that the State of Louisiana failed to actively supervise its real estate appraisal board comprised of market participants and the state’s remedial measures taken after the FTC filed its complaint did not demonstrate that the state would actively supervise the board in the future. 

North Carolina’s highest court rules that lower court erroneously relied upon the state statute for appraisals when it denied admission of testimony from a real licensee about the value of land taken by the state for a road project, finding that the court should have instead of used the rules for admitting or excluding expert testimony.

Michigan federal court dismisses lawsuit filed by attorney seeking MLS access without joining a REALTOR® association, with the court finding that the membership requirement isn’t a restraint on competition and it is reasonable for associations to tie membership to MLS access. 

Pennsylvania federal court rules that real estate brokerage did not owe fiduciary duties to seller when acting as a dual agent and so dismissed those claims against brokerage but allowed other claims made against brokerage to continue.

The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, sitting en banc, upheld an earlier determination that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had incorrectly rejected a long-standing RESPA interpretation that payments made to settlement service providers are permissible so long as those payments are for goods or services actually provided and are for fair market value.

Maryland appellate court upholds real estate commission’s sanctions for licensee’s failure to disclose information about possible gas station leak into well water but reverses sanction for failure to disclose existence of HOA when in fact the entity was not an actual HOA.