Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
We hired a lawyer for real estate litigation. It�s a small civil case. The Seller failed to pay a commission with an offer we presented for our Buyer. The Seller made a deal with the Buyer�s son, and sold the property. We didn�t have a signed listing agreement, but we have emails between the Seller and us where he tells us to bring an offer so long as he can net a certain amount. Our attorney wants to only say that we had an exclusive listing agreement (which we don�t) and not do an alternative cause of action (fraud). Our attorney has no clue what he is doing. We have had to repeat ourselves numerous times, he misspelled our names, and now we received a counter claim asking for attorneys� fees. We told our attorney we are not going to pay him until he gives us a gamelan on how to win, and he won�t� do it. Now he is filing a motion to remove himself. What options do we have? What if we dismiss all charges? Are we then left with the counter claim? Should we file a bar complaint? HELP!
2 Answers from Attorneys
You don't have a right to a commission. Agreements employing a broker to act in a real estate transaction are subject to the statute of frauds. An e-mail is insufficient, as the agreement must be signed by or on behalf of the principal.
mr. Roach is correct that you do not seem to have a case as you had no exclusive written agreement with the Buyer to represent them so would have not been entitled to a commission if the purchase had gone through. You appear to have had no agreement with the seller's broker to split the commission, so there are no damages you could collect even if the sale was done fraudulently to avoid having to pay you a commission. On the other hand, they do not have a basis to sue you until there is a verdict in their favor for a frivolous lawsuit. Offer to them a mutual dismissal of the causes of action.
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