Reeves

This is an action by a broker for the recovery of a commission for the sale of an orange grove, claimed to have been made by plaintiff and one L. L. Hammersley, a salesman in his employ. On March 6, 1926, the defendant executed and delivered to plaintiff a written listing agreement. On April 19th, the said Hammersley, acting for plaintiff, secured from defendant what was apparently a written option, in connection with a deal he then had on with a man named Thompson, permitting him to sell the place listed to Thompson for $16,000. On the morning of April 20th or 21st plaintiff met one Edward Kranz and his father at an orange grove owned by Kranz and situated across two ten-acre tracts from defendant’s grove, the sale of which is in controversy. This meeting was for the purpose of considering the sale of another orange grove owned by plaintiff and which he was trying to sell to the said Kranz. Kranz obtained his first information concerning defendant’s grove through this conversation, the extent of this information being in dispute. At this same conversation Kranz stated to plaintiff that he had certain equities in certain properties in Altadena, which he would like to trade in on…