Vincent v. Real Estate Division

548 P.2d 180, 24 Or. App. 913, 1976 Ore. App. LEXIS 2475
CourtCourt of Appeals of Oregon
DecidedMarch 29, 1976
DocketCA 5006
StatusPublished

This text of 548 P.2d 180 (Vincent v. Real Estate Division) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vincent v. Real Estate Division, 548 P.2d 180, 24 Or. App. 913, 1976 Ore. App. LEXIS 2475 (Or. Ct. App. 1976).

Opinions

LANGTRY, P. J.

Petitioner appeals pursuant to ORS 183.480 from an order of the Real Estate Commissioner suspending for four-and-one-half months his license as a real estate broker. For many years he has been the designated broker for Dean Vincent, Inc., a real estate corporation, pursuant to the requirements of ORS 696.080. The corporation has had numerous offices throughout Oregon and Washington, employing approximately 100 salesmen, of whom 60 were located in Oregon at the times in question. Petitioner testified that he has had overall direction of the organization but that he delegated large parts of the operation to other supervisory personnel. He testified, however, "* * * I was very much involved with the monthly financial statements * *

The notice of charges against him break down to nine in number. Several of them were dismissed for lack of sufficient evidence supporting them. The findings of fact against petitioner were: (1) that Dean Vincent, Inc., (hereafter DVI), removed clients’ funds from the clients’ trust accounts and deposited the same in a savings account where they earned interest and DVI retained the interest in all except one instance without knowledge of the clients and without maintenance of records of interest earned on each deposit; (2) that on December 13, 1974 petitioner caused and permitted DVI to transfer client’s trust funds on a sale of Sullivan Glove Company property in Bend, Oregon in the amount of $10,000 from client’s trust account to the operational office account and that the deal had not been closed before this use of the funds; (3) that on a "Gay Top Beauty Salon” sale of property DVI accepted a deferred commission whereby $125 per month would be paid to DVI which would retain $100 thereof and would hold $25 per month in trust for the seller; that in three instances the extra $25 of client’s funds was retained for operational use of the business by DVI; (4) that between "January 1,1974, and February 4,1975,” [916]*916while they were under petitioner’s control DVI withheld funds from the salaries of its employes for a group medical insurance policy but did not pay the same to the insurance company with the result that the employes’ health insurance claims were rejected by the insurance company; (5 and 6) that on two real estate deals real estate salesmen who were employes of DVI made purchases of property on their own accounts and gave respectively $7,500 and $7,000 in their personal notes as earnest money payments but that DVI did not put the notes into a neutral escrow account.

The Commissioner concluded that the following laws and rules had been violated:

Finding No. (1) The provisions of ORS 696.240, 696.300(1)(h), (q) and (s) and OAR 863-10-025(1);
Finding Nos. (2) and (3) The provisions of ORS 696.240, 696.300(1)(q) and (s) and OAR 863-10-025(1) and (3);
Finding No. (4) The provisions of ORS 696.300(1)(h) and (q);
Finding Nos. (5 and 6) The provisions of OAR 863-10-025(6).

The Commissioner further concluded that it was the responsibility of petitioner to supervise the conduct of DVI so that such practices would not take place.

Petitioner has assigned as error each finding of fact, asserting that it is not supported by substantial evidence and has also assigned as error each conclusion of law, asserting that the finding of fact with reference thereto does not support the conclusion.

The provisions of law and rules found violated are set out in note 1.1

[917]*917The evidence disclosed DVI experienced financial difficulties in the latter part of 1974 and early 1975 which finally resulted in a change in managing personnel after the events in question here and in a change in ownership of its corporate stock. The financial difficulties were manifested by overdrafts on the general operational bank account of DVI during at least December 1974 and January 1975. Petitioner alleviated this condition in some measure by deposit[918]*918ing approximately $13,000 of his personal funds in DVI’s operational account toward the end of the period mentioned above. From his own testimony concerning his involvement in the monthly financial statements, it is obvious that petitioner had clear knowledge of DVI’s financial straits during 1974 and early 1975.

Inasmuch as we have concluded that some of the findings and conclusions are insupportable, and some are incomplete, it will be necessary to remand the matter to the Commissioner for further action with reference to them and the penalty imposed because with a change in the findings the Commissioner must necessarily reconsider the penalty. For this reason it becomes imperative for us to examine each of the findings and give our opinion thereon:

(1) DVI had for many years maintained two client trust bank accounts. One was a checking account through which virtually all of its client trust funds were passed and the other was a savings account into which earnest money belonging to clients was sometimes deposited. These occasions usually resulted from a situation where the earnest money was going to be held for a considerable period of time while such things as litigation concerning the real estate deal was resolved. It appears that this account existed for a long time prior to 1961 and continually thereafter. The charges related to all of the deals in which clients’ trust funds were placed in this account beginning in [919]*9191968. There were nine such instances. In several of these the evidence made it clear that the interest earned was paid to the clients. In others, it was equally clear that the interest went to DVI and only the principal was used in closing the deals. In still others, it was not clear from the records whether the interest went to the clients, attorneys involved in the closing of the deals or to DVI. It is uncontroverted that DVI’s books had been audited by Real Estate Division personnel on numerous occasions over the years and that no commissioner had ever made any objections to the practices which were being followed with reference to the trust savings account.

The Commissioner has pointed to no law or regulation which prohibits a real estate broker from maintaining a trust savings account or which delineates, if such an account is maintained, who shall have the benefit of the interest which is earned. We cannot agree with the Commissioner that the practice of having such an account violated either ORS 696.240 or OAR 863-10-025. However, the funds in the account were "held in trust.” A trustee is accountable for and may not retain any profit made through or arising out of the administration of trust funds. See Stephan v. Equitable S & L Assn., 268 Or 544, 522 P2d 478 (1974); Restatement (Second) of Trusts, §§ 203, 207 (1959).

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512 P.2d 1016 (Court of Appeals of Oregon, 1973)
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Stephan v. Equitable Savings and Loan Association
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Bluebook (online)
548 P.2d 180, 24 Or. App. 913, 1976 Ore. App. LEXIS 2475, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vincent-v-real-estate-division-orctapp-1976.