Conveyancing: Brokerage of 03 and Gas Interests; Real Estate License

摘要

Plaintiffs, who were not licensed real estate brokers, enter into a consultation agreement with defendants to find a buyer for certain property. After plaintiffs find a buyer the defendants refuse to pay the agreed fee, asserting that the plaintiffs are not licensed real estate brokers; a statute, La. R.S. 37:1445, provides that unlicensed persons cannot recover brokerage charges. The trial court sustains the defendants' exception on this basis. Plaintiffs appealed. Held: Judgment sustaining the exception affirmed, but trial court's dismissal of the suit to allow plaintiffs IS days to amend their petition reversed. While the plaintiffs may be precluded from most recovery under the consultation agreement for lack of a license, they should be given an opportunity to amend their petition to allow them to seek recovery for the portion of the fee that would be attributable to the sale of oil, gas, and other mineral interests, the brokerage of which does not require a real estate license by the Louisiana Real Estate Commission.