Cases - AL Wilkinson Ltd v Brown

Record details

Name

AL Wilkinson Ltd v Brown

Date

[1966]

Citation

1 AII ER 509

Keywords

Estate agency - commission

Summary

The plaintiff was authorised to sell the defendant's leasehold greengrocer's shop. Commission was due 'in the event of your introducing ... a person prepared to enter into a contract to purchase at' an acceptable price. The plaintiff found a prospective purchaser who was willing to buy but could not sign the contract. Initially he was unable to sign because the landlord was not satisfied with his references. When the landlord was eventually satisfied, he was still unable to sign because he had not sold his own property.

The Court of Appeal held that 'prepared to enter a contract' means willing and able to enter it. The prospective purchaser was nearly prepared, but that was not enough to earn the agent's commission.

The agents were heavily criticised by the court for their conduct. First, in touting for business - they had gone to the vendor, not she to them - and second, in getting the defendant to sign a commission agreement, 2 or 3 times normal commission, with extraordinary clauses purportedly entitling the agent to commission on revocation of instructions at any time. These were probably void and were not sued upon. The agents were also criticised for resorting to threatening the defendant with liability for commission if she did not go through with the sale to the person they had introduced.