Lieberman v. Colahan

Citations

• 267 Pa. 102
• 110 A. 246
• 1920 Pa. LEXIS 817

Syllabus

<p>Brokers — Beal estate brokers — Commissions—Failure to consummate sale — Agreement by attorney to pay commissions — Statute of frauds — Act of April 26, 1865, P. L. 808.</p> <p>1. In the ordinary ease of a real estate broker procuring a customer with whom the owner of the real estate is willing to contract, the commission is earned without reference to the outcome of the sale.</p> <p>2. One haying charge of real estate as attorney, may, by special parol agreement, obligate himself personally to pay a broker’s commission for its sale, provided such agreement is original and not collateral to a primary obligation by or on behalf of the owner. Such an agreement is not within the statute of frauds.</p> <p>3. In an action against an attorney-at-law to recover commissions on sale of real estate, the case is for the jury, and judgment on verdict for plaintiff will be Sustained, where the evidence for the plaintiff, although contradicted by defendant, was in effect that defendant individually contracted with them, and as such promised to pay the commission without disclosing an agency; that the first intimation they had that he was acting for another was when he signed his principal’s name to the agreement of sale; and that he then said: “Well, we made this sale for the purpose of making title, you can look to me for the commission.”</p> <p>Practice, C. P. — Trial—Mistake of statements of fact in charge —Duty of counsel to call attention to misstatements by trial judge —Waiver—Statute of frauds — Necessity to plead — Act of May 14, 1915, P. L. 488.</p> <p>4. Where the trial judge makes mistakes in his charge as to matters which are essentially matters of fact, and the judge’s attention is not called to them until after verdict, they afford no ground for reversal.</p> <p>5. A party may not sit silent and take his chances of a verdict, and then, if it be adverse, complain of a matter which, if an error, would have been immediately rectified and made harmless.</p> <p>6. Not