Roberts

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY1

Maria D. Roberts owned a home in Tarzana that she leased to Robert Haro. Roberts was having financial difficulties and arranged for a lender-approved short sale at the price of $480,400. Two potential buyers—Haro and another man—submitted offers to buy Roberts’s home. Both potential buyers offered to buy the property for $480,400. Roberts advised Haro and the alternative potential buyer that she had received offers from both of them, “which created competition between them to become the buyer of the Wilbur property.” The price of the property did not increase. Instead, “in addition to offering to purchase [the Wilbur] property at the aforesaid price [of $480,400] the alternative buyer orally offered to provide [Roberts] with an additional $100,000 in some manner that would be legal [while Haro] orally offered to procure [Roberts] an engagement as a marketing program/project manager with a third party . . . with payment for her services in one or more projects to be provided by [Haro] in the sum of $90,000[, with] the engagement to be for at least six months at no less than $1,300 per week.” On May 8, 2013, Roberts accepted Haro’s offer. A few days…