Friedland v. Isenstein

191 Ill. App. 109, 1915 Ill. App. LEXIS 921
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided January 5, 1915·No. Gen. No. 20,227·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

Mr. Justice Gridley

delivered the opinion of the court.

Morris Friedland, plaintiff, on January 19, 1914, recovered a judgment for $1,000 against Samuel Isenstein, defendant, in the Municipal Court of Chicago, for commissions as a real estate broker. The defendant by this writ of error seeks to "reverse the judgment. The cause was tried before the court without a jury.

The plaintiff in his statement of claim alleged in substance that, being a licensed real estate broker, he procured one B. Weinstein as a purchaser for defendant’s property, situate at Nos. 3254-60 W. Madison street, Chicago, and that said property was sold to said Weinstein for a consideration of $40,000, and that he claimed a commission of $1,000, no part of which sum had been paid him. The defendant in his "affidavit, of merits alleged, in substance, that plaintiff was not'the procuring cause of said sale, and that at the time the sale was made, in July, 1913, plaintiff was not a duly licensed real estate broker under the provisions of sections 192-198 of chapter 15 of the Revised Municipal Code of Chicago,'and that defendant was not indebted to plaintiff in any sum.

On the trial, it was not disputed that in July, 1913, the defendant sold the property to Weinstein and received therefor," in cash and another piece of real estate, the equivalent of $40,000, but the evidence was conflicting as to whether or not plaintiff was the procuring cause of the sale. Plaintiff testified, in substance, that during the year 1913 he was in business as a real estate broker, with offices at No. 6l3 Ashland Block, Chicago,.and was also an attorney at law; that prior to March 1, 1913, defendant listed with plaintiff several pieces ■ of real estate for sale, including the property in question on West Madison street; that early in March plaintiff submitted the property in question to said Weinstein who expressed a willingness to consider purchasing same on a basis of part cash and exchanging a smaller piece of property owned by him ; that plaintiff shortly thereafter asked defendant to call at his office, which the latter did, and plaintiff told defendant of his conversation with Weinstein, and requested defendant to at once go with one Weinshenker and look at the smaller piece of property, owned by Weinstein, which Weinstein had suggested exchanging. Weinshenker testified that he was present in plaintiff’s office at the time, and that he and defendant immediately went and viewed said Weinstein property. Plaintiff further testified that he saw defendant at the latter’s house on the same evening and they talked over terms of the proposed transfer, and that defendant told plaintiff he would get $1,000 as soon as the deal was completed; that shortly thereafter plaintiff again called on Weinstein and informed him of the terms on which defendant had said he was willing to make the trade; that on March 10th he sent defendant a registered letter (copy of letter and original registry receipt were introduced in evidence) advising defendant that he had submitted defendant’s property to Weinstein and was negotiating with him; that subsequently he continued his negotiations; and that later, in July, 1913, he learned that the deal had been consummated between the parties when he was not present. The defendant, while he admitted that he talked with plaintiff early in March regarding the sale of the property in question and that plaintiff came to his house occasionally during the months of May and June, testified to the effect that one Goldberg, a real estate broker, was the procuring cause of the sale and that he paid Goldberg a commission. He denied ever having agreed to pay plaintiff a commission of $1,000 when the deal was completed. He admitted being in plaintiff’s office early in March and going with Weinshenker to view certain property but stated that the property they looked at was not the Weinstein property, afterwards transferred to him in the consummation of the deal, but was another piece of property. Goldberg, a witness for defendant, testified that he first spoke to Weinstein about the Isenstein property in April, 1913 (which was subsequent to the time that plaintiff first presented the same to Weinstein), and that after the deal was consummated he received a commission of $300 from defendant, and also a further commission of $200 for subsequently selling for defendant the property received from Weinstein when the deal in question was consummated. Weinstein, a witness for defendant, testified that he first looked at the Isenstein property shortly after plaintiff first spoke to him about the same.

After careful examination of the testimony of the various witnesses, we cannot agree with the first contention of counsel for defendant, viz., that the finding and judgment are manifestly against the weight of the evidence. On the contrary we think that the evidence tends to show that the defendant employed the plaintiff to negotiate a sale of defendant’s property valued at $40,000, that plaintiff in good faith undertook said em-. ployment and was instrumental in bringing defendant and Weinstein together, whereby the sale to Weinstein was afterwards made, and that, although plaintiff was not present when the -sale was actually consummated, he was nevertheless the procuring cause of the sale.’ Under all the circumstances we think' that he is entitled to the commissions claimed. Hafner v. Herron, 165 Ill. 242; Henry v. Stewart, 185 Ill. 448, 453; Pridmore v. Wilson, 159 Ill. App. 343, 346; Gould v. Ricard Boiler & Engine Co., 136 Ill. App. 322, 331.

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Friedland v. Isenstein, 191 Ill. App. 109, 1915 Ill. App. LEXIS 921 (Ill. Ct. App. 1915).

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