Ellison v. Kerr

Citations

• 86 Ill. 427

Syllabus

<p>1. Auctioneer—liability for deposit to purchaser. The general rule is that where real estate is sold at auction, until the sale is completed the auctioneer is regarded as a stake-holder of the deposit when any is required to be made, and he should not pay it to either party without the consent of the other.</p> <p>2. When nearly two years are suffered to elapse after a sale of land at auction, before the purchaser makes any demand of the auctioneer for a deposit made with his firm, and no notice is given to retain the same, and some five months after the sale the purchaser takes a written contract of sale from the owner, in which such owner acknowledges the receipt of the money so deposited, and the auctioneer is induced by the acts of the purchaser in settling with his principal, the vendor, to pay to the latter the deposit money, no recovery can be had by the purchaser against the auctioneer.</p>