Law for Business 12th Edition by James Barnes,Terry Dworkin,Eric Richards

Exercise 7

Mary Fletcher entered into an exclusive listing agreement with Robert Hicks, a licensed real estate broker, to have him help her sell some land and buildings. During the period of the listing agreement, Hicks was in contact with a number of prospective buyers, including Walter STEERE. When the listing agreement expired and the property was still unsold, Fletcher and Hicks agreed that Hicks would continue to market the property for her. Soon thereafter, Hicks told Fletcher that he had an offer from STEERE to buy the property for $1.1 million. After Fletcher accepted STEERE'S offer, she learned that Hicks and STEERE had purchased the property together as partners. Has Hicks violated his agency duties to Fletcher? Explain.