Brownell v. Kinzinger
Brownell v. Kinzinger
Opinion of the Court
This is an action to recover a broker’s commission. On October 25, 1922, the appellant Kinzinger was, and for sometime prior thereto had been, the owner and holder of a leasehold interest in certain real property situated in the city of Seattle,
The appellant defended the action on the ground that, by the terms of her contract, she could not transfer the leasehold interest without the consent of her landlord, of which fact she informed the broker at the time the property was listed with him for sale, and that the landlord would not consent to the transfer because of the moral character of the persons the respondent had produced as purchasers. In support of this latter contention, the appellant testified that one of the contract purchasers, Mary B. Leow, told her that she and her husband had been in the hotel business in another city in the state of Washington and had there engaged in the illicit sale of intoxicating liquors; that they had been discovered and that her husband was practically a fugitive from justice, and inquired of her whether she thought it possible for them “to get by” with such a thing there. She further testified that she felt obligated to make the conversation known to her landlord, and that upon doing so the landlord refused
The trial judge, sitting without a jury, found that the contract had been breached without sufficient cause and allowed a recovery for the amount agreed to be paid as a commission. In our opinion, the evidence sustains his findings, and the judgment will stand affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.