Baker v. Dennis Brown Realty, Inc. case brief

Baker v. Dennis Brown Realty, Inc. case brief summary
433 A.2d 1271 (1981)

CASE SYNOPSIS
A real estate agent (defendant in this case) appeals a judgement of a New Hampshire district court.
After a jury trial, damages were awarded to the plaintiff, who was a potential purchaser, on her action for the intentional interference with a prospective contractual relationship.

CASE FACTS
The plaintiff was a potential purchaser and made an offer on a home.
The agent of the seller later showed the house to another couple, who offered a few hundred dollars more to buy it.
The seller's agent would have split the commission with the prospective purchaser's agent.
Since the other couple did not have an agent, the agent would receive the full commission if the other couple's offer was accepted.
The agent presented both offers to the seller without informing the potential purchaser of the latter offer.
The seller accepted the higher offer.
The agent claimed that the New Hampshire statute prohibited actions that related to the sale of land unless there was a written contract.  The agent claimed that this precluded recovery.

DISCUSSION
-The court affirms the judgment.
-The court finds that the statute is inapplicable in this case because it deals with contracts. 
-A claim for prospective interference with contractual relationship is a tort action.
-There was no trial record, and the court refuses to disturb the findings that the agent's actions were not privileged.
-The court, however, finds that some of the damages are speculative.  The court vacates these.

CONCLUSION
The court vacates a portion of the damages that were awarded to the potential purchaser but otherwise affirmed the judgment in her favor.

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