I listed my parents farm for sale with my real estate company which I work for. After not getting any offers on the property during the listing period, the listing expired a year later and was never relisted. A year and two months after the listing expired, my parents entered into a contract with a builder. I had advised my boss, that this had taken place. She knew that no listing commission was going to be paid, because my parents sold the property on their own, long after the listing had expired. My parents, knowing that efforts were made by our office to sell the property while it was listed, offered to pay a fee. My boss gratefully accepted the offer as it was better than $0. My percentage of the commission generated for the company was extremely high, as had been the arrangement for the split between the company and myself. When the property was scheduled to close title a year and a half later, she decided that I was not to be paid anything and she would keep the entire fee paid. Understandably, I protested and firmly said that was unacceptable. A week later, my wife and I went on vacation and returned to find on my answering machine that I had been fired, my former boss had filed a lawsuit against me, my parents and my brothers for not the fee paid, but more than 5 times the original fee, as the commission for the sale of the farm. I was not permitted to even retrieve my personal belongings from the office. She had sent my license back to the state, which took time to get back and I found a position with another firm. My parents and I had to hire separate attorneys to defend ourselves. After a year and a half of hearings, depositions, legal fees and discovery, the case went to trial. The lawsuit against my parents and my brothers was dropped at the request of my former boss's attorney as it was baseless to begin with. The trial lasted the better part of a week. The jury got the instructions from the judge first thing on the last day. Less than an hour later, the jury said they had a verdict and they found in my favor 100%. I owed the woman ZERO, ZIP, NADA, ZILCH, SQUAT, but I could not recover the thousands it cost to defend myself. It has taken a long time to reestablish my business and recover from the legal fees I incurred. The only satisfaction I have is knowing that a jury believed me and the witch is now trying to sell her office in a BAD market!
