Smith v. Commonwealth, State Real Estate Commission
Smith v. Commonwealth, State Real Estate Commission
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
Ronald C. Smith, d/b/a Century 21, R. C. Smith (petitioner) appeals an order of the Real Estate Commission (Commission) suspending his license for one year for knowingly making substantial misrepresentations to a customer and engaging in conduct in connection with a real estate transaction which demonstrated incompetency, bad faith or dishonesty.
Our scope of review in this matter is limited to a determination of whether or not the order of the Commission was supported by substantial evidence in the
Initially, we note no evidence in the record which indicates that the petitioner ever inspected the roof, had otherwise worked upon the house, or had ever resided there. Concerning Mr. Lipnak’s testimony, even though the Commission found that some type of business relationship
Finding an absence of substantial evidence, which has been defined as “more than a mere scintilla but such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion,” establishing that the petitioner knowingly
We do believe, however, that substantial evidence exists in the record which would support the Commission’s conclusion that the petitioner was guilty of violating Section 10(a)(7) of the Act which allows the Commission to suspend or revoke the license of a real estate broker or salesman for: “any act or conduct in connection with a real estate transaction which demonstrates incompetency, bad faith, or dishonesty....” Id. For instance, the record shows that, at the hearing held below in this matter, the petitioner admitted being paid $2000 by Ms. Gravesen, as part of the sale agreement, for the construction of a driveway, that such project was not completed, and that he still had the balance
The petitioner next argues that the Commission’s hearing examiner committed errors prejudicial to him by allowing certain photographs of the water damage caused by the leaky roof into evidence and by excluding two letters offered by the petitioner.
The photographs, which the petitioner alleges are incompetent and prejudicial, were taken approximately two years after Ms. Gravesen purchased the house. While we might question their probative value, we do not, however, believe that the allowance of these photographs into evidence was prejudicial to the petitioner. Testimony in the record clearly indicates, and would have alerted both the hearing examiner and the Commission, that the photographs did not reflect the condition of the property at the time of the alleged complaint and that Ms. Gravesen had not made any attempt to fix any of the leaks prior to taking these photographs.
Concerning the hearing examiner’s refusal to admit into evidence the two letters from two workmen who performed work on the property, we find no error in such exclusion where, as here, hearsay evidence was properly objected to. Burks v. Department of Public Welfare, 48 Pa. Commonwealth Ct. 6, 408 A.2d 912 (1979).
Order
And, Now, this 17th day of September, 1982, the order of the Real Estate Commission in the above-captioned matter is hereby affirmed insofar as it finds the petitioner guilty of violating Section 10(a)(7) of the Act, 63 P.S. §440(a)(7), and is hereby reversed insofar as it finds him guilty of violating Section 10(a)(1) of the Act, 63 P.S. §440(a)(l), and this matter is remanded to the Commission for reconsideration of the penalty imposed.
Sections 10(a)(1) and (7) of the Real Estate Brokers License Act (Act), Act of May 1, 1929, P.L. 1216, as amended, 63 P.S. §§440(a)(l) and (7), repealed and replaced by the Act of February 19, 1980, P.L. 15, 63 P.S. §§455.101-455.902. Section 10(a) of the Act, which was in effect and controls here, provides in pertinent part as follows:
(a) The Commission may, upon its own motion, and shall, promptly, upon the verified complaint in writing of any person setting forth specifically the wrongful acts or acts complained of, investigate any action or business transaction of any licensed real estate broker or real estate salesman; and shall have the power temporarily to suspend or permanently to revoke licenses theretofore issued by the department, under the provisions of this act, at any time when, after due proceedings as hereinafter provided, it shall find the holder thereof to have been guilty.
(1) Of knowingly making any substantial misrepresentation; or
(7) Of any act or conduct in connection with a real estate transaction which demonstrates incompetency, bad faith, or dishonesty....
And, pursuant to the Act, 49 Pa. Code §35.103 was promulgated:
No broker shall make representations to give assurances or advice concerning any aspect of a real estate transaction which he knows or should know to be incor-
The Commission in its decision noted that “[t]he roof was critical to [her] because she complained to the [petitioner that] a bad roof on her home was why her former house was sold so cheaply.”
The Commission did not specify the .nature of this relationship.
We note that we are only concerned with the petitioner’s status as a licensed realtor and that this is not a civil suit for damages where knowledge held by a joint adventurer, partner, or employee might arguably be imputed to a fellow adventurer, partner, or employer respectively.
Possibly, the petitioner’s statement that the roof was in “A-l condition” might constitute a “knowing” misrepresentation of his knowledge of the roofs condition in that it may have lead Ms. Gravesen to believe that he had inspected the roof. The Commission, however, stated in its decision that the petitioner “misrepresented the condition of the roof [and that] ... the evidence
Approximately $1312.
We note, as did the Commission, that 49 Pa. Code §35.103 provides as follows: “No broker shall make representations to give assurances or advice concerning any aspect of a real estate transaction which he knows or should know to be incorrect, inaccurate or improbable.”
We note that the decision below neither refers to or relies upon the photographs.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.