Matz v. Bessman
Matz v. Bessman
Opinion of the Court
This is a suit by a real estate broker for commission claimed to have been earned on a sale. The authorization by the owner was based on a definite net price to be obtained and the broker was to have as commission all over that price, very much as in the case of Mendles v. Danish, 74 N. J. L. 333. The price fixed was $7,200, and plaintiff secured a purchaser at $7,700, who was plainly satisfactory to the .defendant because defendant contracted with him at that
There was a judgment for plaintiff, and the defendant appeals-. Appellant’s argument is that the words “keep for their own use,” &c., imply not only a sale in the usual sense, but the consummation of a sale as in the case of Leschziner v. Bauman, 83 N. J. L. 743. in that case, however, the language was quite specific that the commission should be payable only in case of a conveyance, so that the decision is not in point. We do not think that any such construction should be put on this contract. If the word “sale” is used, it should have the meaning usual in such cases, and which, as laid down in the very recent case of Resky v. Meyer, 119 Atl. Rep. 97, is “not the conveyance, but the meeting of the minds of seller and broker’s purchaser, or the production by the broker of a purchaser who fulfills .the requirements of the seller.” We do not think that the language of the contract in the present case is sufficient to attach to the word “sale” any meaning that involves the consummation of a conveyance and collection of the proceeds, but that after the broker procured the customer and the defendant accepted him, the broker was not an insurer of either the solvency or the willingness of the customer.
The judgment will be affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.