Olsen

This is an appeal from a judgment in an action upon a contract between real estate agents respecting the division of a commission.

The defendant and respondent, E. A. Strout Western Realty Agency, Inc., a corporation, sued as Strout Realty, was a licensed real estate agent holding a valid and enforceable listing agreement from a prospective seller by the name of Rose, which provided for the payment of a $5,000 commission ; the plaintiffs and appellants, Olsen and Tyler, also were real estate agents; and between them it was agreed orally that the plaintiffs would cooperate with the defendant in obtaining a purchaser of the property listed by Rose, and would receive a share of the commission derived from a sale to a purchaser produced by them, although the extent of that share was not then agreed upon. Thereafter, the plaintiffs produced a buyer who agreed to buy the property in question upon the terms prescribed; and executed escrow instructions accordingly; but the prospective seller, Rose, refused to proceed with the sale. In the interim, and immediately prior to the time when the proposed buyer made his offer to purchase, it was agreed that the commission should be “split” as…