The court dismissed the fraud and negligence claims under the statute of limitations, but found that the broker breached
an implied agency contract under which she, as agent, owed a duty to act in the best interests of the buyer / principal.
Not exact matches
Nescar SL v Middlesbrough FC (2011, QBD) Acting for Spanish sports services
agency —
agency agreement for transfer of professional footballer — breach of
contract —
implied terms
Having gone on to uphold the tribunal's finding of no employment
contract, the EAT went on to give the following guidance, which bears reading in full by anyone dealing with one of these cases: Unlike casual worker cases, where the key issue is mutuality of obligations, to construct one overall
contract of employment, in
agency worker cases the key issue is likely to be «whether the way in which the
contract is in fact performed is consistent with the
agency arrangements or... is only consistent with an
implied contract between the worker and the end user and would be inconsistent with there being no such
contract».
That Cairns would have a better prospect of establishing an unfair dismissal case against the end user rather than the
agency could form no basis for
implying such a
contract between the worker and the end user.
With regard to the
agency, there can of course be cases where an employment relationship is deliberately created with the worker; short of that, however, if the documentation directly denies any such relationship, the
agency merely places the worker with the client / end - user, and then has no control over the work that is done — a tribunal or court will not normally find an
implied contract of employment with the
agency.
For a general
agency agreement, ie one which does not contemplate limiting the seller to using only one agent, a term would generally be
implied into the
contract requiring that the agent «effectively cause» sale: if the agent does not cause sale, they will not be entitled to their commission (see Dashwood v Fleurets Limited [2007] EWHC 1610 (QB), [2007] All ER (D) 67 (Jul)-RRB-.
Cairns does leave the door open for a finding in a future case that a
contract of employment can be
implied between worker and end user despite one already existing between the worker and the
agency.
Both decisions provide a restrictive interpretation of the test set out in the Court of Appeal's decision in Dacas v Brook Street Borough (UK) Ltd [2004] EWCA Civ 217, [2004] All ER (D) 125 (Mar) on the issue of
implying a
contract of employment between a worker and end user in a tripartite employment
agency arrangement.
The fact that a
contract of employment already existed between the worker and the
agency was described as plainly a relevant factor in determining whether it was necessary to
imply a second
contract of employment.
It was a case where the apparent
agency arrangements «did not reflect the reality of the situation» and so it could be seen as necessary to find the
implied employment
contract between worker and client.
I read your article with great interest and believe you are absolutely right in that selling agents (those representing a buyer, whether under
contract with a Buyer
Agency Agreement or
implied) should present their own offer OR at the very least be present when the offer is being presented.
The court found that an expired
agency contract may be extended by a broker's actions and the principal's acquiescense, and that where
implied agency exists, the agent owes all requisite fiduciary duties.
The court affirmed that no express
contract existed but that, under express and
implied - in - fact
agency principles, the broker was due compensation for the value of his pre-sale marketing activities.
The relationship may be established in a written service agreement, for example through a listing
contract or a buyer's
agency contract, it may be established verbally through disclosure and consent, or it may be
implied through the actions of the parties.
Curtis Properties Corp. v. Greif Companies (212 A.D. 2d 259)- lease; exclusive
agency agreement; written commission agreement terminated; recovery allowed under quantum meruit for
implied contract; commission entitlement under
implied contract where broker brought parties together; party may not frustrate the performance of an agreement by bringing about the failure of a condition precedent; court will not
imply exclusive right to deal absent express language.
If we as an industry are successful in the current venture of disassembling or dismantling the current system, it would seem prudent to think beyond the real estate industry to all
contracts (and what role exactly government plays in those
contracts), and the related
agency expressed or
implied each time we sign a
contract, for any purpose whatsoever.
Never did get an answer to (this) my question on this thread: In
contract law, in any
contract, can an agent, expressed or
implied, or otherwise having accepted the
agency,
contract out of fiduciary duty and other requirements?