Melvin v. West

107 So. 2d 156
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedOctober 29, 1958
Docket70
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 107 So. 2d 156 (Melvin v. West) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Melvin v. West, 107 So. 2d 156 (Fla. Ct. App. 1958).

Opinion

107 So.2d 156 (1958)

William H. MELVIN, Appellant,
v.
William H. WEST, Appellee.

No. 70.

District Court of Appeal of Florida. Second District.

October 29, 1958.
Rehearing Denied December 9, 1958.

*157 Wm. A. McRae, Jr., Stephen H. Grimes, Holland, Bevis, McRae & Smith, Bartow, T.C. Houk and R.J. Randolph, Stuart, for appellant.

*158 English, McCaughan & O'Bryan, Fort Lauderdale, Paty, Downey & Daves, West Palm Beach, for appellee.

SEBRING, HAROLD L., Associate Judge.

West, a real estate broker, sued Melvin, a property owner, to recover a real estate commission allegedly earned by West for effecting the sale of certain of Melvin's lands to one Buchanan and his associates. By stipulation, the case was tried before the Circuit Judge without a jury and judgment was for the plaintiff. The defendant has appealed from the judgment assigning as grounds for reversal, that the evidence does not support the judgment and that the evidence shows that a non-licensed employee of the plaintiff actively participated in procuring the listing of the land and in procuring the purchaser and hence the plaintiff is barred by law from recovering a commission.

According to the evidence most favorable to the plaintiff, the defendant owned a piece of land which plaintiff understood contained approximately 3,000 acres and was for sale at $1,100 an acre. The defendant orally listed this property for sale with the plaintiff, and several other brokers, with the specific understanding that "the first registered real estate broker who brought in a check and a signed sales contract would be the successful negotiator of the deal."

About a month after West had been given the listing, he informed Melvin that he had a prospect who was interested in buying the 3,000-acre tract at $1,100 an acre. In reply, Melvin told West that the price was not $1,100 an acre for 3,000 acres, as understood by West, but was $3,500,000 whatever the acreage. West conveyed this information to his prospect, Buchanan, and thereafter and with full knowledge of the fact that the price of the property had been fixed at $3,500,000, West and Buchanan inspected the property. Shortly after viewing the property, West and Buchanan conferred with Melvin about the purchase of the property by Buchanan and two associates, but came to no definite agreement in regard to a sale. A few days after this conference, Buchanan informed West that he had ascertained that the tract did not contain 3,000 acres, as had been originally represented by West to him, but a lesser acreage, and hence that he and his associates were not interested in buying the property at the quoted price of $3,500,000 but might be willing to pay $2,750,000, and that if the counter offer was not acceptable they "would have no further interest in the matter."

After receiving this counter offer from Buchanan, West phoned Melvin and told him that if he was interested "in helping save the deal" he and West should "get (their) heads together and see if (they) could work out some way to work the situation out * * * (that) Mr. Buchanan was still interested in the property as such * * * and if the price and terms could be worked out to (Buchanan's) satisfaction * * * (he, West) felt the deal could still be made."

The evidence shows that a few hours after this conversation, West, Melvin, and L.V. Hart, one of West's employees, met in West's office at Ft. Lauderdale to discuss what might be done to "save the deal." The meeting ended when Melvin decided, with West's approval, that since he and Buchanan "were the two principals in the situation" he, Melvin, would negotiate directly with Buchanan, if some one would drive him to Miami Beach for the purpose. Thereupon Hart, West's employee, agreed to drive Melvin to Miami Beach where Buchanan was found and a conference was held, which began at approximately 5 o'clock in the afternoon and ended about three hours later, when Melvin finally agreed, after much discussion, to reduce the price of the property from $3,500,000 to $2,900,000, provided $600,000 was paid in cash and the remainder was paid in specifically-agreed annual installments, *159 with interest, over a 10-year period; and also agreed that since Buchanan had no authority to commit his associates to the purchase of the property at the new price and terms agreed on at the conference he, Buchanan, might have "until two o'clock the next day (Friday, March 16, 1956) to obtain the permission of (his) associates to continue with the business on the basis of this present agreement and to authorize the contract to be drawn up on this basis"; that in the event permission was obtained "to continue with the business," Buchanan would inform West and would "deposit" with him a check in the sum of $50,000 as a "binder payment"; and that Mr. and Mrs. Melvin would meet with West and Buchanan, at Buchanan's office, on Saturday morning, March 17, 1956, to execute a contract of purchase, to be prepared by West's attorney, which would bind the parties to the sale and purchase of the property.

The evidence is to the effect that on Friday morning, March 16, Buchanan got in touch with his two associates and obtained their permission to purchase the property at the price and terms agreed to by Melvin at the Thursday afternoon conference; that Buchanan called West, at about 11:30 Friday morning, to advise him that he had had "the matter confirmed and * * * had a check available"; and that West immediately phoned the Melvin residence to inform Melvin of what Buchanan had said, but was told by the person answering the phone that Melvin was away from the premises.

West continued calling the Melvin residence at frequent intervals throughout the remainder of the day but was never able to contact Melvin. That night, at a few minutes past midnight, Melvin called West to inform him that on that day he had sold the property to two prospects produced by a real estate salesman, one Harris, who also had an open listing on the property; that a down-payment check had been offered and accepted, and that a sales contract had been executed by seller and buyers and hence that he could not sell the property to Buchanan.

The testimony of plaintiff's witness, Harris, the real estate salesman who produced the purchasers to whom the property was sold, was to the effect that on Thursday, March 15, 1956, he had interested two prospects in buying the property at the price of $3,500,000 that was being asked by Melvin; that around 6 o'clock Thursday evening his prospects had offered him a "binder" check which he had refused because "they had not stepped on the property"; that he thereupon attempted to call Melvin but could not reach him, because he was not at home; that he called Melvin between 8:45 and 9 o'clock on Friday morning to inform him that he had the property sold and to request Melvin to meet with the purchasers so that the transaction might be closed without delay; that he met with Melvin one hour and ten minutes later and introduced him to the purchasers; that Melvin then went with Harris and the purchasers to the property, where a purchase contract was executed and a check was delivered between 2:45 and 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

The evidence shows, that after receiving this information late Friday night, West went to Miami Beach early Saturday morning to inform Buchanan that Melvin had sold the property to another prospect.

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Bluebook (online)
107 So. 2d 156, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/melvin-v-west-fladistctapp-1958.