Bryan v. Brown Childs Realty Co. Inc.

We consider for the second time this dispute involving an agreement between plaintiff Brown Childs Realty and defendant Robert C. Bryan in connection with Bryan’s purchase of a tract of real estate. This agreement, styled “Realtor’s Commission Agreement,” provided for various forms of compensation to Brown Childs in addition to the realtor’s commission paid by the sellers of the property, including a deferred payment on a per-acre basis, an exclusive listing agreement for resale of the property with a six percent commission, and an equal sharing of the proceeds of any future sale between Bryan and Brown Childs. After Bryan obtained an option contract on a portion of the property without the assistance of Brown Childs, Brown Childs sought assurances that its earlier agreement with Bryan would be honored. Bryan repudiated the agreement, and this action followed.

In Bryan v. Brown Childs Realty Co., 236 Ga. App. 739 513 SE2d 271 1999, we affirmed the trial court’s grant of partial summary judgment in favor of Brown Childs on the issue of standing to bring the action. We concluded that Brown Childs’s claim was not barred by OCGA § 43-40-24 b even though its real estate license was not in force for a period of time, because the license was in force at the time its claim against Bryan arose. Id. at 740 1. After filing of the notice of appeal, the trial court had amended its order to grant summary judgment in favor of Bryan on the issue of whether the agreement created an equitable interest in the underlying realty. This amended order was held void and the appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Id. at 742 2.