Professional Liability Blog

An Ohio court recently confirmed the scope of a duty in professional relationships with agents under a durable power of attorney. A decision last December of the Court of Appeals of Ohio confirms that where a third-party professional assists an agent acting under a durable power of attorney, the professional’s duty of care runs not to the agent in his or her individual capacity, but to the agent only in the fiduciary capacity, that is, through the agent to the principal.  Hull v. Polous, 2023 Ohio App. LEXIS 4320; 2023 WL 8613552.

Fight the urge to pass on this miniature case note. Sure, my prior blog posts have focused more on practical considerations for title insurance and real estate professionals. Easy reading, pure bullet-list consumption. But, this case is one to watch whether you’re a Reddit “Land Chad” or a 1L selecting your favorite stick in the bundle during second semester Property Law. Be on the lookout for a follow-up blog post after the potential game-changing opinion from the justices in Jeff City.

In 2019, Missouri home sellers filed a federal class action lawsuit against the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and several corporations intimately involved in the residential real estate market like Keller Williams and Berkshire Hathaway. The lawsuit is captioned, Burnett et al v. National Association of Realtors et al. As the basis for the Plaintiffs’ allegations of conspiracy and violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act, the class of home sellers argued the NAR’s commission splitting rule constitutes a conspiracy, prevents natural price competition, and forces home sellers to pay higher commission costs than they hypothetically would have if realtor commission terms were negotiated per each unique transaction.