Legal Ease YOUR CASE SIX STEPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL COMMISSION ARBITRATION OUTCOME YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN PAID THE ENTIRE COMMISSION HAD THE OTHER REALTOR®
NOT PARACHUTED INTO THE TRANSACTION AT THE LAST MINUTE. NORMALLY, YOU WOULD LET IT GO BUT NOT THIS TIME. THIS KIND OF THING HAS HAPPENED ONE TOO MANY TIMES FOR THAT. YOU PUT A LOT OF TIME INTO THE TRANSACTION, A LOT OF MONEY IS ON THE LINE AND THIS TIME YOU ARE GOING TO FIGHT. YOU DISCUSS IT WITH YOUR BROKER, SHE AGREES YOU HAVE BEEN WRONGED AND SHE SUGGESTS TAKING THE OTHER BROKERAGE FIRM TO ARBITRATION (SINCE THE ARBITRATION ITSELF CAN ONLY BE BETWEEN THE BROKERAGE FIRMS) . AFTER ALL, ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF BEING A REALTOR®
amongst themselves through arbitration. You file the paperwork and are encouraged to consider mediation with the other party. While the dispute is almost resolved through mediation, there are two issues that just cannot be resolved and the mediation is ultimately unsuccessful. A date for the arbitration is eventually set. While you were gung-ho about going to arbitration at the time you filed your arbitration request, now you are a little nervous. You start thinking, what if I become tongue-tied and cannot explain why I should get the commission? What if the other side presents a better case? What if I am made to look foolish at the arbitration? This article will discuss how REALTORS® ent their cases in REALTOR®
can best pres- arbitrations following the
rules set forth in NAR’s Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual (“Manual”). While it is not a guarantee that you will win, it will hopefully make you be better prepared for the arbitration and help you feel more confident during your presentation.
16 IGEORGIA REALTOR® [ 1] THE PROCESS A commission arbitration is in many ways like a mini
trial. It is more informal than a judicial proceeding, the rules of evidence do not apply but it is a trial neverthe- less. In arbitrations conducted by GAR, there is a judge consisting of a five-person panel of REALTORS®
. One of
them serves as the chair of the panel. Each party gets to make an opening statement, introduce evidence, cross- examine the other party’s witnesses and make a closing statement. The arbitration is conducted in accordance with written procedures and a script set forth in the Man- ual, which the panel is obligated to follow. After the chair of the panel reads a statement explaining the process, the complainant has the opportunity to make an opening statement. The defendant then makes his or her opening statement. The complainant then presents his or her case through witnesses and the presentation of documentary evidence such as e-mails, contracts, letters and signed or sworn statements of witnesses who could not attend the
NOVEMBER I DECEMBER 2014 IS THAT AS A CONDITION OF MEMBERSHIP, ALL REALTORS® ARE REQUIRED TO RESOLVE COMMISSION DISPUTES
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