Unfortunately, in today’s litigious society, lawsuits and grievances against real estate agents are very common. Real estate agents are frequent Targets for lawsuits. A common lawsuit scenario involves a buyer
of property suing the seller and the seller’s agent for failure to disclose defects in the property. In some cases, the buyer also sues his or her own agent to the transaction. The lawsuit alleges not just negligence, but also alleges that the seller and the agent conspired to keep defects hidden to facilitate the sale at a higher price and earn a higher commission. The buyer may also file a disciplinary grievance against the agent. The grievance threatens not just monetary risk for the agent, but the risk of also losing their professional license. The agent may be forced to defend him or herself in two forums simultaneously.

Most times the lawsuit and grievance are highly defensible. Typically, there was absolutely no collusion or conspiracy with the seller to fail to disclose defects existing on the property. The agent likely had no knowledge of any hidden undisclosed defects. At best, the seller may be at fault. Nevertheless, a public lawsuit alleging fraud and conspiracy by the agent is unsettling at best for the accused agent. Reputation is extremely important in a referral business like real estate brokerage. In addition, defending lawsuits is expensive and time-consuming for the agent. Every day working with defense counsel, reviewing documents and providing testimony is another day lost from practicing as a real
estate agent.

Check out some best practices to avoid being sued.

*McCune, Daniel R., Perdue, Kimberly and Charlton-Perrin, Gawain, “Top Ten Tips for Real Estate Agents to Avoid Getting Sued,” Hanover Insurance Group, August 2016.