Question

On September 26th, 2019, farmer Realty entered an Exclusive Seller Listing Agreement with Darren Owens to sell Owen's house on Tybee Island. The agreement provided that Owens granted Farmer Realty the exclusive right and privilege as the Agent of [Owens] to show and offer for sale the house. It stated that [t]he term of this Agreement shall begin on Sept. 26, 2019, and shall continue through April 15, 2020. Farmer Realty's duties under the Agreement included using its best efforts to procure a buyer ready, willing and able to purchase the Property at a sales price of at least $479,900 (including commission) or any other price acceptable to [Owens]. Owens agreed to cooperate with [Farmer Realty] to sell the Property to prospective buyers and to pay Farmer Realty a commission of 6% of the purchase price of the Property in the event that during the term of this Agreement... [Farmer Realty] procures a buyer ready, willing, and able to purchase the Property at the price described above. The Agreement further stated that: [t]he commission obligations set forth herein shall survive the termination of this Agreement. Owens decided to take his house off the market because he believed it was severely underpriced, and so notified Farmer Realty verbally and in writing in October 2019. When Owens notified Farmer Realty that he wanted to take the house off the market, Farmer Realty suggested raising the asking price, but Owens declined to do so. Owens subsequently attempted to sell the house himself for $725,000. Farmer Realty removed the for sale sign and lockbox from the house, but informed Owens that the Agreement was still in force. By November 2019, both Owens and Farmer Realty had retained counsel to represent them. In March 2020, Farmer Realty presented Owens with an offer to purchase the house for $479,900 in cash with no contingencies or conditions, which was accompanied by a check for earnest money in the amount of $10,000. Owens did not accept the offer. Farmer Realty sued to recover its 6% commission of $28,794, which it contends it is owed because it produced a buyer ready, willing, and able to purchase the house for the asking price of $479,900 during the term of the Agreement. Owens argued that he rescinded the Agreement in October 2004 and was no longer bound by it when the buyer was procured. Who will prevail in a lawsuit by Farmer Realty for a commission?

Answer 1

Farmer Realty's right to commission would depend on the Exclusive Seller Listing Agreement's terms and whether a buyer procured during the term satisfies these terms. The contract's survival clause regarding commission payments may favor Farmer Realty, even after Owens's attempt to rescind the agreement.

Step-by-step explanation:

The outcome of a lawsuit by Farmer Realty for a commission against Darren Owens depends on the interpretation of the Exclusive Seller Listing Agreement terms and the actions taken by both parties. Under the agreement that began on September 26th, 2019 and was set to continue through April 15, 2020, Farmer Realty was granted the exclusive right to sell Owen's property and entitled to a 6% commission if they found a buyer at the listed price or one acceptable to Owens. Owens's attempt to rescind the agreement in October 2019 is crucial but not necessarily decisive, since the agreement's provisions concerning commission survival imply an obligation beyond the unilateral withdrawal by Owens. If the contract stipulates that the commission is owed even after termination and a buyer was indeed procured during the effective date of the agreement, Farmer Realty may prevail for the commission.