Crofoot v. Spivak

VAN DYKE, J.

This appeal is taken by defendant after judgment rendered against him in an action brought to recover money alleged to be due for services rendered. The complaint alleged the following's That in July, 1948, defendant orally promised plaintiff that if plaintiff was approached by persons interested in buying plaintiff’s own sawmills and timber lands or timber rights and would forego selling his property to such persons and would introduce such prospective purchasers to defendant so that defendant would have an opportunity to sell to such persons the defendant’s mill and lumber properties, and if defendant did thereafter consummate such sale with the persons so introduced to him by plaintiff, then he (defendant) would pay plaintiff the sum of $2,500; that plaintiff was approached by persons desiring to purchase such properties; that he introduced said prospective purchasers to defendant; that defendant thereafter sold his properties to them and that thereby defendant became indebted to plaintiff in the agreed sum of $2,500. Plaintiff affirmatively alleged that at no time had he been a licensed

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real estate broker or a licensed business opportunity broker. Defendant answered, generally denying plaintiff’s allegations and after a trial the court found the facts to be as follows: That all of the allegations of plaintiff’s complaint were true save and except those having to do with the condition that plaintiff should forego selling his own property to any prospective purchaser whom he might introduce to defendant and having to do with the allegations as to plaintiff’s performance of such conditions, the court finding in effect that no such condition was stated in defendant’s offer and no performance of such condition by plaintiff occurred. The trial court gave judgment for the sum of $2,500 as prayed for.

Reduced to its simplest proportions, this appeal has to do with the question of whether or not a license is required before one can collect on a promise to pay compensation for introducing a prospective purchaser to a property owner desiring to sell his properties, nothing more being done than the bare act of introduction. We think it unnecessary in the decision of this case to follow appellant through his discussions of the proper interpretation of the pertinent licensing acts because we think the case is controlled by the decision in