Oklahoma Supreme Court
Upholds Exclusive Buyer Agent Claims
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to read this news story, as reported in Inman.com
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has issued a decision
slamming the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission, ruling that not
only does The Buyer's Agent exclusive buyer brokerage franchise "save money" for buyers, but that the Commission didn't know how to read its own laws.
The exclusive buyer brokerage victory came in a Commission complaint
against Buyer's Agent franchise owner Kenneth Snider of Woodard,
Okla.
The Commission had complained that The Buyer's Agent, Inc. advertising
material was "false and misleading" because it claimed the franchise
"saved buyers thousands of dollars."
The advertising also contained the warning: "Beware of any agent who
mentions the words 'dual agent,' 'assigned agent,' 'contract
broker,' 'facilitator,' 'transaction broker,' or 'designated agent.'
These are all methods of conducting real estate transactions which
give the buyers less than full representation."
The state agency had found the words false and misleading and fined
Snider $200. The Buyer's Agent franchise, based in Memphis, Tenn.,
then filed a lawsuit against the Commission, asking that the
decision be reversed.
The Commission prevailed in the district court and the civil court
of appeals, but the Oklahoma Supreme Court took the case, reversed
the lower courts, and thudded the Real Estate Commission.
The high court found that The Buyer's Agent had adequately
proven --
with consumer affidavits -- that its service had saved homebuyers
thousand of dollars.
The high court opinion stated, "We find that the
statement in the
booklet (The Edge) for which the appellant was sanctioned is neither
false nor misleading. Sellers' agents and dual agents do not and
cannot by law give a buyer the same degree of loyalty as an agent
who acts on behalf of a buyer. … A buyer who relies on the seller's
agent or on dual agency does not receive the same degree of legal
protection as that afforded by an agent acting solely on behalf of
the buyer. "
"Accordingly, we find that the order of the Oklahoma Real Estate
Commission is clearly erroneous, contrary to its own rule, and
without evidentiary support and must be set aside."
Buyer's Agent President Tom Hathaway in Memphis applauded the court
decision and called the ruling "important for exclusive buyer
agents" all across the country. "This case will be cited for years
to come by attorneys when exclusive buyer broker claims are
challenged by real estate agents who are trying to
neutralize the
benefits of full representation."
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