C. Gardner Sullivan, II v. Mrs. John R. Hopkins

Appellant and her co-defendant, Arthur Stegall, were defendants in an action on contract prosecuted by appellee against them in the district court. Ste-gall settled prior to trial. In a non-jury diversity case, the judge awarded a judgment against appellant for $55,000.-00, plus interest. We affirm.

OUTLINE OF FACTS

Although the claim is stated in three alternate counts, we need concern ourselves only with the common count for services rendered.

We believe that the following is a fair statement of the appellant’s case. Appellee, Sullivan, is an IBM operator and a musician. In 1965, he learned that Irma Kellogg was interested in selling her Santa Barbara County ranch. As a result of a conference, she orally agreed to pay him a commission of 5% of the purchase price if he produced a buyer. To work out the details of the transaction, she referred him to her attorney, Mr. Crawford. The latter, when contacted by appellee, restated Mrs. Kellogg’s agreement to pay appellee a 5% commission upon producing a buyer. Crawford and Kellogg, although the subject was never discussed, assumed that the appellee was a real estate broker. In the conversation .there was no mention of purchase price…