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.
In Leo v. Neill, the Supreme Court of Alabama addressed the issue of reliance in the context of MLS errors. The court concluded that where purchasers do not reasonably rely on MLS information, they may not recover damages, even though the information is actually in error.
On April 12, 1979, Neill (buyer) purchased a house in Huntsville, AL. Mary Leo, d/b/a The Leo Agency, was the...
In Jorgensen Realty, Inc. v. Box, Jorgensen Realty appealed an order confirming a Board arbitration award. The Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed that the Board had legally arbitrated an inter-member dispute.
Jorgensen, Box, McClintock, and The Frederick R. Ross Investment Co. (FRIC) were members of the Colorado Association of REALTORS® (CAR). A commission...
In Farnsworth Samuel Limited v. Grant, the Court of Appeal of Louisiana addressed the issue of procuring cause in the sale of property. The court found that although the sale occurred outside of the listing agreement and extension periods, because broker initially introduced the buyer to the property and assisted in the original bid, which differed from the final bid by...
In 1985, the Supreme Court of Washington held that a real estate agent does not commit the unauthorized practice of law by completing a pre-printed earnest money agreement, provided the transaction is simple and the form was drafted by an attorney. The court held that in drafting such agreements and their addenda, an agent is held to the standard of care of a practicing attorney. Because the...
Prior to the enactment of the Fair Housing Act Amendments of 1988 adding handicapped to the protected classes, the Supreme Court addressed the applicable standard of review for alleged Equal Protection clause violations against mentally retarded people in the case City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center. The Court held that a city ordinance violated the Equal...
In Carl Sandburg Village Condominium Assciation No. 1 v. First Condominium Devel. Co., the Seventh Circuit addressed tying arrangements concerning the sale of condominiums and the use of a particular management company. The court held that the plaintiffs failed to show that the developers sold both the tied and tying product or service, and that no Sherman Antitrust Act...
In Award Realty v. Copeland, the Supreme Court of Tennessee addressed the issue of dual agency. Based upon the specific facts of the case, the court held that the broker acted only on behalf of the vendor and, as such, was entitled to a commission.
In October 1982, Copeland spoke with Silver, a broker at Award Realty (Award), and advised him he was interested in...
In People v. Natoinal Association of Realtors® (San Diego II), the California Court of Appeal held that the San Diego Board of REALTORS® created an illegal tying arrangement when it conditioned participation in its multiple listing service on Board membership.
With approval from the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) and the California...
In U.S. v. Graham Mortgage Corp., a 1984 case, the Sixth Circuit addressed alleged violations of 12 U.S.C. section 2607(a) (section 8(a) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (RESPA)). The court reversed the criminal conviction of the appellants, as it found that the plain language and legislative history of RESPA did not indicate an intent to include the...
Article 2: REALTORS® shall avoid exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts relating to the property or the transaction. REALTORS® shall not, however, be obligated to discover latent defects in the property, to advise on matters outside the scope of their real estate license, or to disclose facts which are confidential under the scope of...