BENTON W. POWELL ET AL., APPELLANTS,
v.
E. G. GREEN, APPELLEE
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A real estate broker sued property owners for damages after they refused to enter into a formal contract for sale with a purchaser the broker had procured. The court reversed the judgment for the broker, holding that without an agreement by the owners to pay the broker a commission, the broker cannot recover damages, and any oral promise to convey would be barred by the Statute of Frauds.
A broker cannot recover damages from property owners under these circumstances because there was no contract by the owners to pay the broker any sum, and any oral promise to convey real property is unenforceable under the Statute of Frauds, precluding an action for damages for breach thereof.
[1] A broker is not entitled to damages from owners for refusal to enter into a formal contract for the sale of real estate when the broker was to be paid by the purchaser an…
[2] An oral promise to convey real property is unenforceable under the Statute of Frauds, and an action for damages for breach of such a promise will not lie.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The undisputed facts in the record show that the broker was to be paid his commission by the purchaser and that the owners did not agree to pay any commission or part thereof to the broker.”
Establishes the critical fact that there was no agreement between the owners and broker regarding commission payment.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA broker brought an action for damages against property owners and their agents for refusing to enter into a formal contract to sell real estate with …
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HOBSON, Judge.
Appellants appeal a final judgment entered in the trial court below in favor of the appellee-broker. The broker brought this action for damages against several of the appellants as owners and other appellants as their agents for refusal of the owners to enter into a formal contract for the sale of certain real estate with a purchaser that the broker had allegedly procured pursuant to an alleged oral offer to sell that had been made by an alleged authorized agent of the owners. The undisputed facts in the record show that the broker was to be paid his commission by the purchaser and that the owners did not agree to pay any commission or part thereof to the broker. In the case of De Lucca v. Flamingo Corporation, Fla.App.3d 1960, 121 So. 2d 803, our sister court held, under identical facts that appear in this record, that a broker under said facts is not entitled to damages from the owners. In De Lucca the court stated at page 804:
“It is sufficient for a decision of the case before us to point out that the undisputed facts preclude recovery. The testimony of the plaintiff himself upon a prior trial of this cause was that the owner did not promise to pay him anything. This lack of a contract by the defendant to pay the plaintiff any sum distinguishes this case from those where recovery has been permitted because of a contract by the owner to pay a broker all that is obtained over a stipulated amount. See cases collected at 88 A.L. R.299; 144 A.L.R. 921.
“It unmistakably appears from the record that the broker was acting for the purchaser, yet he claims a promise by' the owner to him that the former would sell to his customer for a certain price. Thus it is not a promise to pay a commission that the broker seeks to enforce, but a promise to convey. Under such circumstances, since the oral promise to convey real property could not be enforced because it comes within the purview of the Statute of Frauds, § 725.01, Fla.Stat., F.S.A., an action for damages for the breach thereof will not lie.”
For the foregoing reasons the final judgment appealed is REVERSED.
GRIMES, J., concurs.
McNULTY, C. J., concurs in conclusion only.