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Licari v. Blackwelder | 539 A.2d 609 (1988)
In Leakere versus Blackwelder, we'll look at whether real estate brokers have a fiduciary duty to the sellers they represent.
Gloria Leakere and her five siblings inherited a home from their parents.
The siblings didn't have extensive experience in real estate and decided to sell the house. One neighbor recommended that the siblings hire real estate broker Robert Schwartz to help the siblings sell the house.
Schwartz consulted with real estate agents Donald Blackwelder and Hannah Obert, collectively referred to as Blackwelder.
Blackwelder and Schwartz entered into a split commission agreement in which the agents agreed to share the commissions equally if any of Blackwelder's clients bought the home. Schwartz obtained an exclusive twenty four hour right to sell the home at one hundred twenty five thousand dollars. Schwartz's employee immediately showed the siblings' home to one of Blackwelder's clients at an asking price of one hundred twenty five thousand dollars. In the same twenty four hour window, Blackwelder placed his own bid on the house for only one hundred fifteen thousand dollars.
The siblings accepted Blackwelder's bid under the belief that the offer was fair market value.
However, Blackwelder didn't negotiate on behalf of the siblings with any potential buyers, and Blackwelder didn't wait a reasonable time after the twenty four hour window before making his own offer. The siblings were led to believe that Blackwelder would live in the home after the sale. However, immediately after Blackwelder purchased the home, he sold the home to another buyer for one hundred sixty thousand dollars, earning a forty five thousand dollar profit.
The siblings sued Blackwelder, claiming that Blackwelder breached his fiduciary duty by failing to find a buyer to purchase the home at the best possible price and for misrepresenting facts to induce the siblings to sell the property.
The trial court found that Blackwelder breached his fiduciary duty to the siblings and awarded the siblings forty five thousand dollars plus interest. Blackwelder appealed to the Connecticut appellate court.
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Get more case briefs explained with Quimbee. Quimbee has over 42,700 case briefs (and counting) keyed to 988 casebooks ► quimbee.com/case-briefs-overview
Licari v. Blackwelder | 539 A.2d 609 (1988)
In Leakere versus Blackwelder, we'll look at whether real estate brokers have a fiduciary duty to the sellers they represent.
Gloria Leakere and her five siblings inherited a home from their parents.
The siblings didn't have extensive experience in real estate and decided to sell the house. One neighbor recommended that the siblings hire real estate broker Robert Schwartz to help the siblings sell the house.
Schwartz consulted with real estate agents Donald Blackwelder and Hannah Obert, collectively referred to as Blackwelder.
Blackwelder and Schwartz entered into a split commission agreement in which the agents agreed to share the commissions equally if any of Blackwelder's clients bought the home. Schwartz obtained an exclusive twenty four hour right to sell the home at one hundred twenty five thousand dollars. Schwartz's employee immediately showed the siblings' home to one of Blackwelder's clients at an asking price of one hundred twenty five thousand dollars. In the same twenty four hour window, Blackwelder placed his own bid on the house for only one hundred fifteen thousand dollars.
The siblings accepted Blackwelder's bid under the belief that the offer was fair market value.
However, Blackwelder didn't negotiate on behalf of the siblings with any potential buyers, and Blackwelder didn't wait a reasonable time after the twenty four hour window before making his own offer. The siblings were led to believe that Blackwelder would live in the home after the sale. However, immediately after Blackwelder purchased the home, he sold the home to another buyer for one hundred sixty thousand dollars, earning a forty five thousand dollar profit.
The siblings sued Blackwelder, claiming that Blackwelder breached his fiduciary duty by failing to find a buyer to purchase the home at the best possible price and for misrepresenting facts to induce the siblings to sell the property.
The trial court found that Blackwelder breached his fiduciary duty to the siblings and awarded the siblings forty five thousand dollars plus interest. Blackwelder appealed to the Connecticut appellate court.
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