THE ESTATE OF JEROME BAIN, DECEASED, APPELLANT,
v.
HUGO MORALES, APPELLEE
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The Estate of Jerome Bain appealed a partial summary judgment granted in favor of Hugo Morales. The court reversed, holding that material factual disputes exist regarding whether commission funds in a trust account were converted and whether the broker procured a willing and able purchaser who was then excluded through a conspiracy between seller and buyer.
Material factual disputes exist that preclude summary judgment. A specific and segregated sum in a trust account may be subject to conversion, and a broker may be entitled to a commission where he produced a ready, willing, and able buyer, even if the sale was never consummated or the buyer later conspired with the seller to exclude the broker.
[1] A sum of money that is specific and segregated in a trust account may be the subject of conversion.
[2] A seller and prospective buyer who fail to consummate a sale agreement and instead enter into a joint venture after excluding a broker from negotiations does not preclude…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the movant has demonstrated conclusively the nonexistence of a genuine dispute of fact or law and that he is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law”
Establishes the legal standard for summary judgment—the movant must conclusively show no genuine factual dispute exists.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA broker (Bain, now deceased, represented by his estate) claimed he was owed commissions on a real estate transaction. Funds were placed in a trust ac…
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PER CURIAM.
In this appeal from a partial summary judgment it is contended, by representatives of the broker’s estate, that there are material issues of fact as to whether a payment in a trust account for commissions was converted, and whether the broker procured a willing and able purchaser who then conspired with the seller to deprive the broker of a commission. Giving the non-movant the benefit of the reasonable inferences in this complex factual setting, it does not appear that the movant has demonstrated conclusively the nonexistence of a genuine dispute of fact or law and that he is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law. Burton v. Linotype Co., 556 So. 2d 1126 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989); rev. denied, 564 So. 2d.1086 (Fla.1990); Mendez v. West Flagler Family Ass’n, 315 So. 2d 7 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975).
Particularly, a sum which is specific and segregated in a trust account may be the subject of a conversion. Futch v. Head, 511 So. 2d 314 (Fla. 1st DCA), rev. denied, 518 So. 2d 1275 (Fla.1987); Allen v. Gordon, 429 So. 2d 369 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983); Belford Trucking Co. v. Zagar, 243 So. 2d 646 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970). Further, that the seller and prospective buyer failed to consummate the sale and purchase agreement and instead entered into a joint venture, after excluding the broker from negotiations, does not preclude a finding that the broker was the victim of a civil wrong. See Royal Netherlands Realty, Inc. v. Ross, 421 So. 2d 642 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982) (broker entitled to commission where sale was never consummated but broker, in accordance with contract, had produced a buyer who was ready, willing, and able to purchase property).
Reversed and remanded for further consistent proceedings.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Est. OF Jerome Bain v. Bibolini, 737 So. 2d 1238 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)…ubject to garnishment by a judgment creditor of the seller. Ginsberg v. Goldstein, 404 So. 2d 1098 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981). Hence the judgment below is reversed with directions to order the funds paid to the appellant. . See Estate of Bain v. Morales, 606 So. 2d 1277 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992); Estate of Bain v. Gateway Group, Inc., 605 So. 2d 167 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992); see also Estate of Bain v. Bibolini, 711 So. 2d 92 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998).…
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Est. OF Jerome Bain v. Bibolini, 711 So. 2d 92 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)…during a hearing for summary judgment.”). We reverse and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. . Our disposition of the appeal renders moot the Petition for Constitutional Stay Writ. . See, e.g., Estate of Bain v. Morales, 606 So. 2d 1277 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992); Estate of Bain v. Gateway Group, Inc., 605 So. 2d 167 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992).…
Authorities Cited
- Belford Trucking Co., Inc. v. Zagar, 243 So. 2d 646 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970)
- Futch v. Head, 511 So. 2d 314 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)
- State v. Rogers, 556 So. 2d 1126 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989)
- Allen v. Abner W. Gordon, 429 So. 2d 369 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)
- Royal Netherlands Realty, Inc. v. Ross, 421 So. 2d 642 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982)
- Mendez v. W. Flagler Fam. Ass'n, Inc., 315 So. 2d 7 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975)