On December 3, 2009, the Appellate Division, Third Department, issued a Memorandum and Order that reversed a decision of the Supreme Court and granted summary judgment in favor of a real estate broker. Robert F. Manfredo, Esq. represented the real estate broker on the appeal.
In this case, a real estate salesman entered into a contract with a group of individual defendants and agreed to obtain financing for those individuals for the construction of a hotel in Ticonderoga, New York. In return, the individual defendants agreed to pay the salesman a commission based on a percentage of the amount of financing obtained by the salesman. After obtaining a 3.5 million dollar loan, the individual defendants refused to pay the salesman the agreed upon commission.
Due to a statutory restriction that prohibited the salesman from bringing a lawsuit against the defendants, a real estate broker with whom the salesman was associated filed suit based on breach of contract. The Supreme Court dismissed the case, holding that because the broker was not a party to the contract he did not have standing to sue on behalf of the salesman. The Third Department, however, reversed the Supreme Court’s decision based on the argument raised by Girvin & Ferlazzo that a real estate broker has standing, as a matter of law, to enforce such contracts. The Court also directed the Supreme Court to enter judgment in favor of the broker for the agreed upon commission.
If you would like more information about this case, please contact Robert F. Manfredo at rfm@girvinlaw.com.