Henderson v. Sonneborn

Citations

• 30 Pa. Super. 182
• 1906 Pa. Super. LEXIS 42

Syllabus

<p>Brokers — Real estate brokers — Commissions—Contract.</p> <p>A real estate broker who sues for commissions must establish his employment, either by previous authority, or by acceptance of his agency, and the adoption of his acts. A mere volunteer is not entitled to commissions though he brings the parties together and is the efficient means of procuring the sale.</p> <p>Where the contract between the broker and his principal is in writing its construction is for the court. But where it is oral, and its terms are in dispute, it is erroneous to charge the jury that if the plaintiff brought the purchaser to the notice of the seller he is entitled to the commissions, and that that is the only question for them to determine, unless under the only reasonable interpretation of which the language of the parties is susceptible, in the light of the circumstances, that is all he was required to do to earn the commissions. What the parties said, and, subject to the foregoing qualification, what was meant by what they said, are questions for the jury.</p> <p>It is one thing for a real estate broker to hold out for a higher price in order to bring the prospective purchaser up to the price fixed by the prineipal, and quite another thing to insist that the property cannot be bought for less than the price which the agent has named, and that, too, in the face of the purchaser’s express offer to pay the price fixed by the owner. Possibly the former might be regarded as not prejudicial to the principal’s interest, but clearly the latter would be, in the absence of explanatory circumstances, or at least would have that tendency. Such agent is bound to act toward his principal with the utmost good faith, and exert his skill for his benefit.</p>