The Pinza Group v. Virk CA1/3

BACKGROUND

Pinza Group and Virk entered into listing agreements for three of Virk’s properties: (1) 1015 University Street (University); (2) 1314 Delaware (Delaware); and (3) 1949 Milvia (Milvia). University and Milvia are mixed use commercial and residential properties, whereas Delaware is solely a residential property. The parties entered into the initial listing agreements in February 2019, with expiration dates in mid-August 2019. During this period, Pinza Group marketed the properties through online listings, including the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and LoopNet, postcard mailings, letters, emails, and telephone calls to prospects, and open houses. However, the properties did not sell due to various problems attributed to Virk, such as maintenance issues, regulatory violations, failure to provide keys, and a lack of reliable financial information. In early August 2019, prior to expiration of the initial listing agreements, Virk emailed Steven Pinza, Pinza Group’s principal, to “ ‘cancel[ ] all my listings since they not sold and already expired.’ ” Pinza did not inform Virk that the listing agreements were still in effect; he instead responded with a demand for mediation…