McCully, Inc. v. Baccaro Ranch

778 N.W.2d 115, 279 Neb. 443
CourtNebraska Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 12, 2010
DocketS-09-372
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 778 N.W.2d 115 (McCully, Inc. v. Baccaro Ranch) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Nebraska Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
McCully, Inc. v. Baccaro Ranch, 778 N.W.2d 115, 279 Neb. 443 (Neb. 2010).

Opinion

778 N.W.2d 115 (2010)
279 Neb. 443

McCULLY, INC., doing business as McCully Ranch Company, a Nebraska corporation, appellant,
v.
BACCARO RANCH, a Nebraska limited liability company, appellee.

No. S-09-372.

Supreme Court of Nebraska.

February 12, 2010.

*117 Ward F. Hoppe, Lincoln, and Tonia M. Novak, of Hoppe, Vogt & Barrows, L.L.P., for appellant.

George G. Vinton, North Platte, for appellee.

HEAVICAN, C.J., WRIGHT, CONNOLLY, GERRARD, STEPHAN, McCORMACK, and MILLER-LERMAN, JJ.

HEAVICAN, C.J.

I. INTRODUCTION

McCully, Inc., doing business as McCully Ranch Company (McCully), appeals the decision of the Hooker County District Court dismissing its amended complaint for failure to state a claim. McCully, a real estate brokerage, claims that Baccaro, Inc., breached a listing agreement and that it should be able to recover a commission from Baccaro under the agreement or, in the alternative, that quantum meruit should apply. The district court dismissed McCully's complaint for failure to state a claim. McCully also filed a motion to disqualify opposing counsel, which the district court denied. We reverse the decision of the district court as to the motion to dismiss but affirm as to the motion to disqualify.

II. BACKGROUND

McCully and Baccaro entered into a "Farm, Ranch and Land Exclusive Right to Sell or Exchange Listing" (listing agreement) on or about December 23, 2006. McCully filed its complaint in the district court on August 11, 2008. Baccaro responded with a motion to dismiss on August 21, which was granted, along with leave to amend. McCully filed an amended complaint on November 3, alleging both a breach of contract and unjust enrichment by Baccaro.

According to the amended complaint, Baccaro appointed McCully as Baccaro's exclusive agent for the purpose of selling a ranch property in Hooker County, Nebraska. According to McCully, during the term covered by the listing agreement, December 23, 2006, through December 1, 2007, McCully found a buyer willing to exchange its ranch for Baccaro's ranch, plus an additional $180,000. Baccaro made a counteroffer for a direct exchange without an additional payment. At that time, the potential buyer refused the counteroffer. McCully's amended complaint alleged that on September 6, 2007, the same potential buyer accepted Baccaro's counteroffer, but that Baccaro refused to consent to the exchange until after the listing agreement had lapsed, in an effort to avoid compensating McCully.

In its amended complaint, McCully alleged both a breach of contract and unjust enrichment by Baccaro. Baccaro filed a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under Neb. Ct. R. Civ. Pldg. § 6-1112(b)(6). McCully later filed a motion to disqualify Baccaro's counsel based on a conflict of interest, which motion the district court denied. The district court granted Baccaro's motion to dismiss, finding that the listing agreement was unenforceable under the statute of frauds and that McCully could not circumvent the statute of frauds by pleading unjust enrichment. McCully appealed.

III. ASSIGNMENTS OF ERROR

McCully assigns, consolidated and restated, that the district court erred when it found that (1) McCully failed to state a *118 claim for breach of contract or quantum meruit and (2) there was no conflict of interest sufficient to disqualify Baccaro's counsel.

IV. STANDARD OF REVIEW

An appellate court reviews a district court's grant of a motion to dismiss de novo, accepting all the allegations in the complaint as true and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party.[1]

Complaints should be liberally construed in the plaintiff's favor and should not be dismissed for failure to state a claim unless it appears beyond doubt that the plaintiff can prove no set of facts in support of his or her claim which would entitle the plaintiff to relief.[2]

A motion to disqualify an attorney is addressed to the discretion of the trial court, whose findings will not be disturbed absent evidence of abuse.[3]

V. ANALYSIS

1. DISTRICT COURT ERRED WHEN IT GRANTED BACCARO'S MOTION TO DISMISS

We first turn to the district court's grant of Baccaro's motion to dismiss. The district court granted Baccaro's motion to dismiss based on Neb.Rev.Stat. § 76-2422 (Reissue 2009), which requires a "written agreement" for brokerage services. Under § 76-2422(6), a "written agency agreement" for brokerage services must specify "the agent's duties and responsibilities, including... the terms of compensation." The district court determined that § 76-2422 operated as a statute of frauds and that therefore, parol evidence was not allowed.[4] The district court determined the listing agreement was void because the listing agreement did not sufficiently specify the terms of compensation in the event of an exchange of land and parol evidence would be required to establish material terms of the agreement. The district court also found that McCully could not avoid the statute of frauds by alleging unjust enrichment.

We begin by noting that § 76-2422 was first enacted in 1994 as part of an effort to "codify in statute the relationships between real estate brokers or salespersons and persons who are sellers, landlords, buyers, or tenants of rights and interests in real property."[5] The consequence for violating any provision of Neb. Rev.Stat. §§ 76-2401 to 76-2430 (Reissue 2009) is that such violation is considered an unfair trade practice[6] and is subject to administrative action under the Nebraska Real Estate License Act.[7] Section 76-2422 is therefore part of a statutory scheme regulating the agency relationships of real estate brokers and salespersons to buyers and sellers of real property, and it should be read in conjunction with the Nebraska Real Estate License Act.

(a) § 76-2422 Applies to Exchanges of Land

On appeal, McCully argues that § 76-2422 applies only to sales, not exchanges, *119 of real property and therefore is irrelevant in this case. As such, McCully argues that its allegations that Baccaro was unjustly enriched should survive a motion to dismiss. Section 76-2422(6) provides in relevant part:

Before engaging in any of the activities enumerated in subdivision (2) of section 81-885.01, a designated broker who intends to establish an agency relationship with any party or parties to a transaction... shall enter into a written agency agreement with a party or parties to the transaction to perform services on their behalf. The agreement shall specify the agent's duties and responsibilities, including any duty of confidentiality, and the terms of compensation. Any agreement under this subsection shall be subject to the common-law requirements of agency applicable to real estate licensees.

Section 81-885.01(2) defines a broker as "any person who, for any form of compensation or consideration or with the intent or expectation of receiving the same from another, negotiates or attempts to negotiate the listing, sale, purchase, exchange, rent, lease, or option for any real estate." (Emphasis supplied.) Therefore, under the plain language of § 81-885.01(2), one of the enumerated activities covered by § 76-2422(6) is the exchange of property, and McCully's argument is without merit.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Belina
Nebraska Court of Appeals, 2025
State v. Ezell
314 Neb. 825 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 2023)
Dixon v. Dixon
Nebraska Court of Appeals, 2022
Dean D. v. Rachel S.
26 Neb. Ct. App. 678 (Nebraska Court of Appeals, 2018)
Mid America Agri Products v. Rowlands
835 N.W.2d 720 (Nebraska Supreme Court, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
778 N.W.2d 115, 279 Neb. 443, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mccully-inc-v-baccaro-ranch-neb-2010.