Lead Attorneys: Simon H. Bloom, III, Stephanie A. Everett

Commission disputes can be treacherous and fact-intensive, often arising with and without written commission agreements and usually involving substantial sums of money. Representing brokers, purchasers, tenants, buyers, and sellers in both residential and commercial commissions, our skilled litigators have significant experience trying these disputes in all areas including state and superior court, Federal bankruptcy court, and arbitration proceedings conducted pursuant to the National Association of Realtors dispute resolution process.

Recent Wins:

• Broker Awarded Commission Due
  Represented an agent who performed all the work to locate the property only to have the buyer strike a deal with a new agent and cut our client out of the commission. An arbitration panel found that our client was the procuring cause of the sale and awarded all of the commissions to him.
• Victory Allows Client to Retain Full Commission
  Defended a buyer’s broker in an action brought by the original listing agent claiming it was entitled to receive at least half of the commission for the sale of the property. After a bench trial, the judge held that the original selling agent’s contractual rights had expired as a matter of law and that the agent’s actions did not rise to the level of a procuring cause entitling him to receive the commission. As a result, our client retained the full commission.
• Victory Becomes Seminal Authority on the Procuring Clause Doctrine in Georgia
  Insignia/ESG, Inc. v. Reproductive Biology Associates, Inc. et. al., 603 S.E.2d 434 (Ga. App. 2004), represented the tenant when a real estate broker claimed entitlement to the commission for the tenant’s leased space. The trial court granted the tenant’s motions for summary judgment and held no commission was due. The Court of Appeals agreed that the broker had no contractual right to receive a commission; that the broker was not a procuring cause of the lease; and that the broker could not claim commissions under a theory of quantum meruit. This case stands as a seminal authority on the procuring clause doctrine in Georgia.