Grandi

Petitioner and appellant, F. Lloyd Grandi, on October 15, 1948, brought an action in the Superior Court of San Francisco against R. F. Davis, Acting Real Estate Commissioner, asking for a writ of mandate ordering and directing Davis to cancel and annul an order of September 21, 1948, made by him as Acting Real Estate Commissioner suspending petitioner's real estate license for 90 days based on alleged violations of the Business and Professions Code, section 10176, subsections (a), (g) and (i). It was stipulated before the trial court that D. D. Watson, now commissioner, may also be considered as respondent.

Section 10176 of the code provides: "The commissioner may, upon his own motion, and shall upon the verified complaint in writing of any person, investigate the actions of any person engaged in the business or acting in the capacity of a real estate licensee within this State, and he may temporarily suspend or permanently revoke a real estate license at any time where the licensee within the immediately preceding three years, while a real estate licensee, in performing or attempting to perform any of the acts within the scope of this chapter has been guilty of…

Petitioner and appellant, F. Lloyd Grandi, on October 15,1948, brought an action in the Superior Court of San Francisco against R. F. Davis, Acting Real Estate Commissioner, asking for a writ of mandate ordering and directing Davis to cancel and annul an order of September 21, 1948, made by him as Acting Real Estate Commissioner suspending petitioner’s real estate license for 90 days based on alleged violations of the Business and Professions Code, section 10176, subsections (a), (g) and (i). It was stipulated before the trial court that D. D. Watson, now commissioner, may also be considered as respondent.

Section 10176 of the code provides: “The commissioner may, upon his own motion, and shall upon the verified complaint in writing of any person, investigate the actions of any person engaged in the business or acting in the capacity of a real estate licensee within this State, and he may temporarily suspend or permanently revoke a real estate license at any time where the licensee within the immediately preceding three years, while a real estate licensee, in performing or attempting to perform any of the acts within the scope of this chapter has been guilty of any of the…

I concur. Without regard to the question of guilty knowledge discussed in the main opinion I am satisfied that the evidence sufficiently shows a violation of section 10176(g), Business and Professions Code, by appellant himself. That section makes a cause for discipline “the failure of a licensee to reveal to the employer of such licensee the full amount of such licensee’s compensation, commission or profit under any agreement authorizing or employing such licensee to sell . . . real estate for compensation or commission. . . Even if appellant honestly believed that Turner had orally authorized the net listing of his property at $2,000 he must have known as an experienced realtor that Turner was not legally bound by a mere oral authorization. (Civ. Code, § 1624, subd. 5.) That he knew there was no binding agreement to sell for $2,000 net is made clear by his asking McGrath to telephone Turner to ascertain if he was still willing to take that amount.

His duty of disclosure of the true selling price under those circumstances is clear on fundamental principles of agency. (See note in 53 A.L.R. 136 et seq., “Duty of broker to inform principal of enhanced value of property.”) Knowing…