Case summaries are provided for educational purposes only, and are not a substitute for legal advice by a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction. Case law may change over time, so be sure to confirm a case is still good law.
Illinois appellate court affirms lower court ruling in favor of real estate brokerage that it was not liable for injuries suffered by prospective buyer while visiting the property, finding that salesperson was an independent contractor and therefore not under the control of the firm.
New York appellate court affirms lower court ruling that brokerage acted as an undisclosed dual agent and therefore could not seek a commission from the transaction.
Georgia appellate court reverses jury verdict that held the franchisor vicariously liable for actions of franchisee because there was no evidence to support the verdict against the franchisor.
California appellate court affirms verdict against real estate professional who the court ruled had misstated a property’s square footage.
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.