Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

I doubt the agent will admit that they did not present the offer and there may not be enough of a paper trail to show when the offer was submitted and the bank decided whom to accept. If the agent, however, represented you without telling you they also represented another buyer, that is a clear conflict of interest. You can report them to the Department of Real Estate but for damages you would have to show that the bank would have accepted your offer [price is not the only factor, was the other bid all cash and yours was not?] and the property is worth more than you offered. You could just attempt to get $1,000-2,000, but to get a lot more you would need to spent more than a few hours and probably hire an attorney.

You'd theoretically have a breach of contract type claim against the broker, but with no ability prove causation or damages. You won't be able to prove your offer would have been accepted by the bank if it had been delivered earlier. The banks in a short sale don't have to accept any particular offer, no matter the amount offered, and they look to 'qualifications' of the buyer. Since they had your offer prior to sale, they reviewed it and simply chose someone else making a 'better qualified' offer in their opinion.

I agree with Mr. Shers and Mr. Nelson. The facts you've given us suggest, but do not show, some improper motives and possible wrongdoing by the agent, but viable lawsuits also have the added ingredients of supporting evidence and significant money damages. Here, maybe the seller had some reason to prefer a lower offer, such as a greater likelihood that financing or cash was backing it and therefore it would close. I'd think the agent's duty is to report all reasonable offers to his or her client, not necessarily to the bank, and that the client could decide which to ask the bank to approve.