Tommy McBride Realty, Inc. sued Sam Nicholson for breach of the commission provision of an Exclusive Leasing/Management Agreement the “management agreement”. Nicholson responded that McBride Realty had breached the management agreement’s implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. McBride Realty filed a motion for summary judgment, which the trial court denied without explanation. After a bench trial, the court awarded McBride Realty a portion of the amounts sought in its complaint. On appeal, McBride Realty claims that the trial court erred by denying its motion for summary judgment, by failing to award the full commission owed under the management agreement, and by failing to award prejudgment interest on the amounts owed by Nicholson. We conclude that McBride Realty was entitled to the full commission owed under the management agreement and to prejudgment interest on that amount. Thus, we reverse the trial court’s judgment as to the sales commission and remand for an award of prejudgment interest. Nicholson, as owner, and McBride Realty, as broker, entered the management agreement on July 12, 2002. The agreement provided McBride Realty the exclusive right to lease and manage certain property in Augusta for two years. In a paragraph entitled “Sale of Property,” the agreement provided that if Owner sells the Property to a tenant . . . obtained by Broker, either during the term of the lease or thereafter, Owner will pay Broker a commission of 10 of the price for which the Property is sold. This obligation shall survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement. Thomas McBride was the broker on a lease of the property from Nicholson to Edna Barmore. The lease agreement provided that if Barmore acquired title to the property or any portion thereof during the lease term or within six months thereafter, Nicholson would pay McBride a commission of ten percent of the gross sales price, in lieu of any further commissions that would have been due under the lease.
Toward the end of the lease term, Barmore decided that she wanted to buy the property. Because she did not enjoy dealing with McBride, she contacted another realtor for help. Barmore offered to purchase the property through her realtor, with the commission to be split evenly between McBride Realty and Barmore’s realtor. Nicholson was willing to accept the offer, but McBride Realty refused to accept less than the full ten percent commission. Barmore testified that she withdrew her offer at one point because of McBride’s conduct and that she would not have completed the transaction if McBride Realty was going to receive a ten percent commission.
