The real estate overheating linked to the pandemic and the phenomenon of one-upmanship have caused legal problems for a couple and brokers.
A house for sale on the South Shore that was the subject of two purchase offers accepted in two days found itself at the heart of a legal dispute.
In his lawsuit, one of the buyers alleges that the brokers did their job poorly.
Éric Bertrand sued the sellers, Benoit Morneau and Danielle Caillé, and brokers, including Vincent Chaput, Mélanie Lavoie and a firm linked to the Sotheby’s agency in Quebec, to force them to accept his offer to purchase rather than that of another person, according to an action filed at the Longueuil courthouse in 2020.
The imbroglio stems from the fact that his offer to purchase, filed first, was accepted by the sellers at 9:04 p.m. on a Friday evening, when it was indicated that they had until 9 p.m. .
TOO LATE
The next day, the brokers declared that the offer was therefore not valid and wanted to start the process of offers to buy again. The first buyer, however, refused to play the game.
Another buyer, whose offer had been ignored the day before by the sellers, then made a new offer on the house, which this time was accepted.
In his appeal, Éric Bertrand alleged that even though his offer was accepted four minutes too late, it was in fact accepted before 9 p.m.
“It is clear that the intention of the sellers, at the time of signing the documents, was to honor the promise to purchase and consent to the sale,” he alleged.
WINNING CASE
“The position of sellers and brokers […] is unreasonable, abusive and in bad faith,” he continued.
In March 2021, the first buyer withdrew its lawsuit against the brokers.
Then in July 2021, he won his case against the sellers who had to give him their house and pay him $20,000, plus interest.