After a hearing, the trial court denied the motion. Following the denial of said motion, plaintiffs requested leave to amend the complaint. The trial court granted plaintiffs 28 days to file an amended complaint. Plaintiffs did not file any additional pleadings. Defendants objected, and ultimately, the trial court denied plaintiffs' motion.
Plaintiffs now appeal.
The issue we are asked to address is whether the Act bars a cause of action to collect a finder's fee under an oral contract for the sale of a landfill when the finder is unlicensed. Plaintiffs contend that the Act does not apply to the facts alleged in their amended complaint because the Act specifically enumerates the activities that make one a broker, and all such activities are directed toward real estate, not toward a business. Plaintiffs insist that the sale of the landfill here in question was the sale of a business, not the sale of real estate. Defendants respond that the Act, which requires that a person be licensed in order to claim a commission, applies to the facts herein because it cannot be said that the land is merely incidental to the sale. The trial court based its determination on the Act, which requires, inter alia, the licensing of real estate brokers.