Cases - FP Rolfe & Co v George

Record details

Name

FP Rolfe & Co v George

Date

[1969]

Citation

EGD 330

Keywords

Estate agency - commission

Summary

The defendant grocer instructed the plaintiff to find a buyer for his business. The plaintiff sent him the RICS scale of charges, which included fees for 'negotiating a sale by private contract, or introducing a person able, ready and willing to purchase on terms authorised by the vendor'.

A purchaser was introduced by a wholesaler (who was not seeking commission) so the defendant asked the plaintiff to help in the negotiations. The parties and the agent met to negotiate terms. The agent produced the accounts and took part in the negotiations. A deal was concluded and the agent sought commission on the sale. The defendant resisted on the ground that he had not introduced the purchaser. Lord Denning MR said of the agent's terms of business 'Those words mean ... that the agent must be, by reason of his negotiation, the efficient cause of the sale'. As there was clear evidence that this was the case, the agent had earned his commission.