Opinion ID: 2083919
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Earned Commissions

Text: Generally, a broker earns his commission when he has performed all that he undertook to perform. Greer v. Kooiker, 312 Minn. 499, 510, 253 N.W.2d 133, 141 (1977). But what constitutes a broker's full performance depends on the exact agreement between the broker and the seller. Olson v. Penkert, 252 Minn. 334, 342, 90 N.W.2d 193, 200 (1958). In Olson, we said: The great weight of authority is that, unless the broker and his employer have expressly stipulated to the contrary, the broker is entitled to his compensation upon the completion of the negotiations which he undertook, irrespective of whether or not the contract negotiated is actually consummated or whether the failure to complete the contract is due to the default or refusal of the employer or to that of the party procured by the broker, so long as the failure to carry it through is not due to any fault of the broker or so long as he has not been guilty of fraud or bad faith. Id. at 344, 201, 90 N.W.2d at 201 (emphasis added). Rosenberg argues that he earned his commission when he obtained signed purchase agreements, but applying Olson, we conclude that the parties have expressly stipulated to the contrary. The July Agreement specifies that if a sale does not ultimately close, any advance given to Rosenberg for the purchase agreement would be refunded or applied to the next signed purchase agreement. Accordingly, the claim for commissions cannot be decided on the simple ground that Rosenberg had earned the commissions when the purchase agreements were signed.