State Real Estate Commission v. Farkas

274 A.2d 238, 1 Pa. Commw. 134, 1971 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 508
CourtCommonwealth Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 25, 1971
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 274 A.2d 238 (State Real Estate Commission v. Farkas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Real Estate Commission v. Farkas, 274 A.2d 238, 1 Pa. Commw. 134, 1971 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 508 (Pa. Ct. App. 1971).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge Rogers,

This is an appeal from an adjudication and order of the State Real Estate Commission revoking the license of the appellant, Joseph Farkas, to practice as a real estate broker.

In June 1966 Christine Johnson called on appellant in answer to an advertisement in a Phoenixville newspaper by which appellant offered a house for sale. Appellant told Mrs. Johnson that the house would be sold to her on the following terms: “I told [her] we were selling that house with a 500 dollar payment on the purchase price, and then we would charge [her] 75 dollars a month for one year, and during the course of that year the 75 dollars would be applied as rent, and anything over and above the expenses would be applied toward the purchase price after one year. After the one year we would try to get you a mortgage at the Building and Loan.”

Mrs. Johnson paid the appellant $375 on June 6, 1966, and he furnished her a receipt on which he wrote, “$300 deposit on house 122 St. Mary plus rent $75 6/6-7/6/66.” On June 30, 1966, she paid appellant $200 and was given a receipt on which appellant wrote: “122 St. Mary’s total paid on account $500 towards purchase.” Neither an agreement of sale nor a lease was prepared. Mrs. Johnson made payments to appellant of $75 in each of the months of July, August, September and October of 1966.

In June of 1966, the St. Mary’s street property was owned by the appellant and an Irving Ostroff. Ostroff had left the management of the property entirely to the appellant. The appellant did not tell Ostroff of his dealings with Mrs. Johnson and did not pay over or account to Ostroff for any of the moneys received from her. The record title to the property was in Ostroff alone. A local Savings and Loan Association held a [137]*137$5,000 mortgage calling for monthly payments of fifty dollars. The Savings and Loan dealt exclusively with appellant. No payments had been made on the mortgage since September 1965. In November, 1966, the Association went into possession under the mortgage, acquired title and thereafter sold the property and an adjoining house to Mrs. Johnson for $5,500.

Mrs. Johnson attempted to recover her money but was unable to find appellant. In early 1969, a lawyer questioned appellant about his obligation to Mrs. Johnson. Mrs. Johnson’s complaint which commenced this action was made with the assistance of the Community Action Board.

The appellant’s explanation of his conduct is that in 1966 he was in deep financial difficulties and that in September of that year the Internal Revenue Service levied on his bant accounts and appropriated any funds to his tax deficiencies. He claims that one such account was an escrow account. Appellant admits that he made no effort to protect any person’s money in that account. When investigated by the Real Estate Commission in March 1969, appellant had no file of the Johnson transaction, no records of an escrow account, no deposit slips for Mrs. Johnson’s money and “didn’t know where anything was.”

Appellant returned $600 to Mrs. Johnson after the Real Estate Commission’s hearing in this matter.

The Commission found:

“9. Respondent neither prepared nor gave complainant an agreement covering the sale.

10. Respondent admitted receiving the money and owing this money to complainant.

11. Respondent permitted a levy by Internal Revenue Service for Federal income taxes to be made upon his escrow account in which funds held for the account and benefit of complainant as well as others were maintained.

[138]*13812. Respondent did not have records of Ms transaction -with, complainant.

13. Respondent did not advise complainant of the levy on Ms escrow account. . .

14. Respondent did not keep records of Ms real estate transactions.

15. Respondent failed to account for the money received by him nor did he return said money to her.”

These findings are supported by substantial evidence.

The Commission concluded that the appellant was guilty of a number of offenses described in the Real Estate Brokers License Act of 1929, May 1, P. L. 1216, as amended, 63 P.S. 431. We will comment on these separately:

Section 10(a)(5), 63 P.S. 440(a)(5). “Of any failure to account for, or to pay over, moneys belonging to others, which has come into his possession . . . arising out of a real estate transaction.”

Appellant had Mrs. Johnson’s money in. June 1966. In November 1966, the property involved came into the possession and control of the Savings and Loan Association. The money had not been accounted for or paid over at the time of the Commission’s hearing in September 1969.

Section 10(a) (7). “Of any act or conduct in connection with a real estate transaction which demonstrates incompetence, bad faith or dishonesty.”

Appellant explains his failure to return Mrs. Johnson’s money by asserting that his bank accounts were levied upon and taken by the Internal Revenue Service. He states he maintained an escrow account but admits he made no effort to prevent its being taken in partial satisfaction of his obligation to the United States Government. He testified “I suppose it was pamc, trying to cover this lien by the government.” Further, the [139]*139appellant failed to apply any part of the total of $800 paid him by Mrs. Johnson to the mortgage on the property which mortgage was nine months in default when he took her money. Incompetency is manifest and there is more than a suspicion of bad faith.

Section 10(a)(9). “Of failing to furnish voluntarily a copy of the agreement of sale to the buyer and the seller, and a copy of the lease to the lessor and lessee.”

That no agreement or lease was furnished Mrs. Johnson is admitted. She was not required to request one. This section of the Act “. . . requires the broker to voluntarily furnish an agreement of sale and a reasonable interpretation of this statutory provision would be to place a duty of affirmative action on the part of the broker.” State Real Estate Commission v. Carroll, 85 Dauphin 223, 228 (1966).

Section 10(a) (11) (i) : “All deposits . . . must be retained by such real estate broker pending consummation or termination of the transaction involved, and shall be accounted for in the full amount thereof at the time of the consummation or termination.”

If, as he states, appellant placed Mrs. Johnson’s money in an escrow account, properly identified as the Real Estate Brokers License Law requires, he did nothing to retain it there. He failed to tell Mrs. Johnson that her money was about to be appropriated to his obligation and he failed to take any action to prevent execution on the escrow funds. By Section 6348 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, 26 U.S.C.A. 6343 and Regulation 301.6343-1 the District Director is empowered to release a wrongful levy at any time. Further, if as appellant states, one of his accounts was indeed properly identified as containing funds of others, the action of the bank in paying over to the Service may have made it liable to the cestuis qui trustent. Would [140]*140the bant have paid over such funds properly identified? See United States v. Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank, 122 F. Supp. 547 (1954). Appellant’s testimony in regard to this levy is revealing: “Q.

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Bluebook (online)
274 A.2d 238, 1 Pa. Commw. 134, 1971 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 508, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-real-estate-commission-v-farkas-pacommwct-1971.