Seltzer Round Co. v. Loehr

30 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 122, 1932 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1467
CourtCuyahoga County Common Pleas Court
DecidedJuly 20, 1932
StatusPublished

This text of 30 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 122 (Seltzer Round Co. v. Loehr) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Seltzer Round Co. v. Loehr, 30 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 122, 1932 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1467 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1932).

Opinion

George P. Baer, J.

The original action was a suit brought by the Seltzer Round Company v. Joseph M. Loehr et al to foreclose a mortgage upon certain lots sold to Loehr by the Seltzer Round Company through its selling agent, The N. A. Seltzer Sales Organization, Inc. Loehr, after answering, filed a cross-petition in which he sought affirmative relief against the Seltzer Round Company as principal and the N. A. Seltzer Sales Organization, Inc., as agent, on account of misrepresentation and fraud, and- joined as party defendant, the London & Lancashire Indemnity Company, which company executed and filed a bond to the State of Ohio in the sum of $1,000, as surety, for the sales company under the provisions of Section 6373-35, General Code of Ohio, which section is included in the so-called Brokers Real Estate Law, embraced in Sections 6373-25 to 6373-51, inclusive, General Code.

The cross-petitioner, Loehr, besides alleging fraud and misrepresentation, asked for rescission and cancellation of the deed, note and mortgage covering the lots so sold [124]*124to him on the ground of fraud in the sale. By reason of the fact that there was an exchange of property by Loehr with the Seltzer Round Company as part consideration of the purchase price, Loehr having conveyed to the Seltzer Round Company a property of the agreed value of $12,500 and the Seltzer Round Company having disposed of said property, and there could be no restoration in kind to Loehr, he asked for damages in the sum of $18,000.

The cross petition of Loehr contained many allegations of misrepresentation “in futuro” and expressions of opinion which are not actionable ordinarily under the common law. The contention of the cross-petitioner Loehr is that these allegations are actionable and should remain in the petition because the so-called real estate brokers act is a law enacted for the protection of the public and has modified and supplemented the common law remedy of fraud and deceit.

The General Assembly of Ohio, in the enactment of the real estate brokers act, recognized the 'necessity of such legislation to protect purchasers of real estate and to correct abuses in the sale thereof. It is a penal statute enacted under the inherent police power of the state. The act requires a license on the part of those who make it their regular business to sell and deal in real estate, and besides a governing or supervising body is set up to administer the law. A bond is also provided for in the act.

Let us now examine the bonding section of the Code under which this action is brought. Section 6378-35, General Code, reads as follows:

“No real estate broker’s license shall be issued until the grantee thereof shall have executed and filed a bond to the State of Ohio in the sum of $1,000 and with surety as the real estate examiners may require. Such bonds shall be filed with the state board of real estate examiners and kept by them in their offices. Such bond shall be conditioned upon the faithful observance of all the provisions of this act and shall also indemnify any person who may be damaged by a failure on the part of the applicant for a real estate broker’s license to conduct his business in accordance with the requirements of this act. Any person claiming to have been damaged by any misrepresentation or fraud on the part of a real estate broker or by reason of the violation of the terms of this act, may [125]*125maintain an action at law against the broker making such representations or violating the provisions of this act, and may join as parties defendant the sureties on the bonds herein provided for. Such bonds shall be in the form prescribed by the board of real estate examiners and approved by them.”

It will be noted that there is a new, concrete and en-forcible remedy created by this statute. A two-fold remedy is given to an aggrieved purchaser of real estate from a licensed real estate broker: 1st. Because of violation of law: 2nd. Because of misrepresentation or fraud in the sale.

Both, or either of which, if true, entitle the purchaser to recover against the principal and surety on the bond.

A real estate broker, under this act, is a preferred person in law. He receives his license (Section 6373-80, General Code) from the state, after an examination as to his honesty, truthfulness, and good reputation. This license is virtually a warrant of authority. A person dealing with him has a right to believe that the real estate broker has complied with the provisions of Section 6373-42, General Code, and has not knowingly made any substantial misrepresentations, or made any false promise with intent to influence, persuade or induce, or pursued a continued and flagrant course of misrepresentation or the making of false promises through agents or salesmen, or advertising or otherwise, or acting for more than one party in a transaction without the knowledge or consent of all parties thereto or failed within a reasonable time to account for or remit all moneys coming into his possession which belong to others, or any other conduct, whether of the same or a different character than hereinbefore specified, which constitutes dishonest dealing, otherwise the broker could not legally possess a license.

The Court of Appeals in the case of Ross v. Coudon, 22 Ohio App., 538, sets forth the responsibilities and obligations of a licensed dealer of securities in this language :—

“This situation arises because of special privileges conferred by the act upon a dealer of securities. Súch dealer receives from the state a certificate. This certificate is prima facie evidence that its bearer is of good business repute, has never made any misrepresentations regarding [126]*126any stock which he has been licensed to sell, has never engaged in any illegitimate business or in fraudulent transactions, and is solvent. This license, moreover, imports that the securities being vended by the bearer thereof have been certified by the state, which means that their regularity has been given at least some investigation by the supervising officers. The licensed dealer, therefore, vending securities in this state, goes to the purchasing public with an advantage that he did not possess, however worthy he might personally have been, prior to the enactment of the Blue Sky Law.

“It was consequently reasonable that the Legislature should, in return for these great advantages require something from the dealer; this it did by the terms of the bond which it required such dealer to give. One such provision (Section 6373-3, General Code) is that he should ‘indemnify any purchaser of securities * * * who suffers a loss by reason of misrepresentations in the sale of such security by such dealer or agent,’ and a general condition of his bond is based upon the faithful observance by him of all the provisions' of the act.”

The licensed real estate broker in Ohio therefore is a privileged person who deals with the purchasing public in a confidential relationship. The broker and purchaser do not deal at arms length, nor are they equal. Their position is one of extreme inequality. It is a relationship of confidence and trust. The real estate broker bears the stamp of approval of the state of Ohio. His license denotes and marks him as a person of influence. The purchaser of real estate, knowing this fact, imposes confidence and trust in him. That confidence and trust should not be abused or betrayed.

“Confidential Relationships

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Bluebook (online)
30 Ohio N.P. (n.s.) 122, 1932 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 1467, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/seltzer-round-co-v-loehr-ohctcomplcuyaho-1932.