2021 Georgia Code
Title 10 - Commerce and Trade
Chapter 6A - Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions
§ 10-6A-1. Short Title
This chapter shall be known as and may be cited as the "Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act."
(Code 1981, §10-6A-1, enacted by Ga. L. 1993, p. 376, § 1; Ga. L. 2000, p. 929, § 1.)
Law reviews.- For annual survey of real property law, see 57 Mercer L. Rev. 331 (2005). For annual survey of real property law, see 58 Mercer L. Rev. 367 (2006).
JUDICIAL DECISIONS
Propriety of summary judgment.
- Trial court erred in granting summary judgment on a homebuyer's breach of contract claim against the buyer's realtor as material fact issues remained as to whether the realtor violated the realtor's duties under the Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transaction Act, O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-1 et seq.; however, summary judgment was proper, based on the testimony presented on the motion, as to the homebuyer's fraudulent concealment claim. Ikola v. Schoene, 264 Ga. App. 338, 590 S.E.2d 750 (2003).
Client's summary judgment motion was properly denied; the absence of a written agreement between a real estate broker and a client did not preclude the broker from seeking to recover compensation under the remedies found outside the scope of the Georgia Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act, O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-1 et seq., including those at common law. Killearn Partners, Inc. v. Southeast Props., 279 Ga. 144, 611 S.E.2d 26 (2005).
Trial court erred in granting summary judgment to a home seller and against a realtor in construing the unambiguous language in the brokerage agreement at issue, which was for a definite term and was not terminable at will; moreover, although a sale was not consummated, the realtor remained entitled to the realtor's six percent commission, and the seller remained obligated to pay that amount, which was the proper measure of damages. Ben Farmer Realty, Inc. v. Owens, 286 Ga. App. 678, 649 S.E.2d 771 (2007), cert. denied, 2008 Ga. LEXIS 81 (Ga. 2008).
Scope.
- Silence in the Georgia Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act, O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-1 et seq., as to when or under what circumstances a real estate agent may assert a claim for payment owed in exchange for services rendered or whether a written agreement must exist before an agent may claim such payment demonstrates that the Georgia legislature did not intend for the Act to regulate real estate commissions or remuneration payments; rather, the Act is concerned primarily with the question of whether and under what circumstances a client or a customer relationship arises and what duties are owed within the context of each. Killearn Partners, Inc. v. Southeast Props., 279 Ga. 144, 611 S.E.2d 26 (2005).
Act is not exclusive remedy, common law claims remain.
- Nothing in the text of the Georgia Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act, O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-1 et seq., provides for the act to be the exclusive remedy; therefore, even in the absence of a written brokerage engagement as defined under the act, a broker may nevertheless recover for the value of the broker's services under common law theories of quantum meruit or as the procuring cause. Killearn Partners, Inc. v. Southeast Props., Inc., 266 Ga. App. 508, 597 S.E.2d 578 (2004).
Remedies outside of act's scope not foreclosed.
- Nothing in the Georgia Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act, O.C.G.A. § 10-6A-1 et seq., indicates that the Georgia General Assembly intended to foreclose the availability of remedies outside the Act's scope, including those available under statute and at common law. Killearn Partners, Inc. v. Southeast Props., 279 Ga. 144, 611 S.E.2d 26 (2005).
Cited in Bircoll v. Rosenthal, 267 Ga. App. 431, 600 S.E.2d 388 (2004).
