Propp v. Missouri Real Estate Commission

504 S.W.2d 137, 1973 Mo. App. LEXIS 1075
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 18, 1973
DocketNo. 35062
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 504 S.W.2d 137 (Propp v. Missouri Real Estate Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Propp v. Missouri Real Estate Commission, 504 S.W.2d 137, 1973 Mo. App. LEXIS 1075 (Mo. Ct. App. 1973).

Opinion

SIMEONE, Presiding Judge.

This is an appeal by appellant, William G. Propp, from the judgment of the circuit court of St. Charles County which affirmed an order of the Missouri Real Estate Commission entered October 16, 1972 revoking the appellant’s real estate broker’s license.

Mr. Propp was issued a broker’s license in 1962 and was licensed as president of the O’Fallon Real Estate Company, pursuant to § 339.030.1

In the fall of 1965, Norman G. Huling and his wife, Rita, engaged Propp and his company to sell their home located in St. Peters, Missouri. Mr. Propp in due time contacted Mr. and Mrs. Larry L. Davis who eventually decided to purchase the Huling property. On November 28, 1965 the Hulings and the Davises signed a real estate contract for the purchase of the property for $17,000.00. The contract was subject to an outstanding first deed of trust in the amount of $15,200.00. The Davises did not have the cash to pay the difference between this amount and the purchase price, so the contract provided for earnest money and cash at closing amounting to $1,000.00 and for the balance to be paid over a period of time. Mr. and Mrs. Davis signed a promissory note for $850.00 payable to O’Fallon Real Estate Co. and Mr. and Mrs. Huling to secure a second mortgage in favor of the payees. As his commission for the sale of the Hul-ing property, Mr. Propp was paid one-half of the $1,000.00 and was to receive one-half of the monthly payments on the note signed by the Davises. The note was signed on December 14, 1965, the same date as the closing of the real estate transaction. The principal and interest were to be paid in monthly installments of $26.64 each to Mr, Propp who in turn was to transfer one-half of the payments to the Hulings. The Davises made several monthly payments as of December, 1967, and Mr. Propp’s wife who acted as his secretary and bookkeeper forwarded the amounts due the Hulings. The Davises failed to make regular monthly payments after January, 1968, but several were made which were not turned over to the Hulings.

On November 20, 1968, Mr. Huling wrote to Mr. Propp requesting the balance of the payments. And subsequently on March 3, 1969, Mr. Propp transmitted the amounts due the Hulings as of that date ($66.62) but informed them that $206.23 plus accrued interest and late charges were still due.

On December 27, 1969, the Davises made the final payment to Propp by check in the amount of $108.48. The check was endorsed and finally cashed by Propp in July, 1970, but the Hulings’ share of the $206.23 was not transmitted by Propp to them.

On November 28, 1970, Huling wrote to Mr. Propp stating that if the balance due him was not settled by December 11, 1970, he would “initiate the necessary legal action to obtain satisfaction for the balance due.” As of this time the balance due the Hulings had not been paid.

On January 14, 1971, the Hulings made a sworn complaint before the Real Estate Commission alleging that they had not received their regular payments, and despite the fact that the last payment by the Dav-ises had been made on December 27, 1969, their portion of the money had not been transmitted to them. A complaint was then filed on January 20, 1972 by the Real Estate Commission before the Administrative Hearing Commission.2 The amended [139]*139complaint filed on May 17, 1972 alleged that Mr. and Mrs. Huling had engaged Propp to sell their property and that Propp had arranged a contract between the Hul-ings and the Davises, that the Hulings agreed to pay Propp a commission of $500.00 plus 50% of the $850.00 note. It was alleged that Propp would hold and collect all the payments on this note and forward to the Hulings the amounts due them, but despite repeated demands by the Hul-ings for their share of the moneys collected by Propp, Propp had withheld the moneys due. This petition alleged that the conduct of Propp violated § 339.100(5) and (7).3 In due time Propp denied appropriate allegations in the complaint.

On June 6, 1972, a hearing was held before the Administrative Hearing Commissioner. Propp acknowledged that he owed the Hulings one-half of $206.23. Propp testified that he acted as the real estate broker for Mr. and Mrs. Huling in 1965 when they wanted to sell their property and that he was to receive as his commission $500.00 (one-half of the cash) and one-half of the proceeds of the note signed by the Davises. He prepared a second deed of trust and the closing took place on December 14, 1965. He admitted receiving the last payment from the Davises in December, 1969, but the check was not deposited until July 24, 1970. He did not write to the Hulings after March, 1969, nor make any payments to them after March, 1969. He admitted that he still owed the Hulings, but explained the reason for not forwarding the amount to the Hulings was that there were personal and family problems and that' his former wife was his secretary and bookkeeper. He admitted that “there is no question that there is a sum due the Hulings,” and that to the best of his knowledge it was one-half of $206.23. On the hearing he stated that he was “prepared to settle it now.”

In due time the Hearing Commissioner rendered his findings of fact and conclusions of law. The Commissioner found that Propp and O’Fallon Real Estate Company had violated § 339.100(5) and (7) and recommended that the licenses be suspended for ninety days upon a showing that the amount is paid to the Hulings and that absent such a showing that the licenses be suspended for one year.4

Hearing was then held before the Missouri Real Estate Commission on September 11, 1972, to give Mr. Propp the opportunity to present any additional evidence or to give the commission evidence concerning the findings of the commissioner.

At this hearing Mr. Propp indicated that he was aware of two other complaints that had been filed against him by the Real Estate Commission. He admitted that he knew of some complaints that were filed against him with the prosecutor of St. Charles County involving insufficient fund checks on his general account, and that he [140]*140had earlier received a thirty day suspension by the commission in 1970.

Finally on October 16, 1972, the Real Estate Commission ordered Mr. Propp’s real estate broker’s license revoked.

In due time, Mr. Propp filed a petition for review of the decision of the Real Estate Commission with the Circuit Court of St. Charles County, alleging that the order of revocation was beyond the jurisdiction of the board, that the revocation was unsupported by competent and substantial evidence, as well as other contentions.

The circuit court affirmed the decision of the Board, and Mr. Propp appealed to this court.

Appellant urges that the trial court erred in affirming the order of the Real Estate Commission because it was beyond its authority and jurisdiction. In support of this, appellant argues that a real estate broker is defined by statute, § 339.010(1) as a person who for compensation or a valuable consideration sells, buys, or exchanges real estate.

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Related

Missouri Real Estate Commission v. McCormick
778 S.W.2d 303 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1989)
Boyle v. Missouri Real Estate Commission
537 S.W.2d 603 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1976)

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Bluebook (online)
504 S.W.2d 137, 1973 Mo. App. LEXIS 1075, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/propp-v-missouri-real-estate-commission-moctapp-1973.