Opinion ID: 1177349
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: finder's exception

Text: At the hearing which resulted in the district court granting Wham possession of the collateral, Diercks argued that Wham was not entitled to holder in due course status because he took the Mazzuca note with notice of the asserted defenses of usury and set-off. After hearing evidence on this issue, the court below ruled that the agreement is not enforceable as Diercks was not a licensed real estate broker or salesman, and further ruled that the evidence was insufficient to establish the Defendant's claim of setoff. On appeal, Diercks maintains that the district court erred in failing to recognize his alleged agreement with Mazzuca as a defense to the note, and urges this court to adopt a finder's exception to the real estate licensing statutes which would provide Diercks with a defense to the note. See Tryone v. Kelley, 9 Cal.3d 1, 106 Cal. Rptr. 761, 507 P.2d 65 (1973). We have examined the record, however, and conclude that Diercks has not carried his burden of demonstrating that the court below erred in failing to recognize the existence of the alleged agreement. See Plankinton v. Nye County, 95 Nev. 12, 588 P.2d 1025 (1979). Diercks did not request the district court enter findings which would establish that the court found the purported agreement with Mazzuca in fact existed, but was unenforceable as a matter of law due to the real estate statutes. See Beggs v. Lowe, 89 Nev. 547, 516 P.2d 467 (1973); Islandia, Inc. v. Marechek, 82 Nev. 424, 420 P.2d 5 (1966). This court has previously held that in the absence of express findings, it will imply findings where the evidence clearly supports the judgment. See Cooper v. Pacific Augo. Ins. Co., 95 Nev. 798, 801, 603 P.2d 281 (1979); Gorden v. Gorden, 93 Nev. 494, 496, 569 P.2d 397 (1977); Richfield Oil Corp. v. Harbor Ins. Co., 85 Nev. 185, 192, 452 P.2d 462 (1969). In the instant case, due to counsel's failure to request express findings, this court is bound to presume that the district court found that the agreement between Mazzuca and Diercks, the existence of which was denied by Mazzuca, was not sufficiently established. Thus, even if this court were prepared to recognize a finder's exception to the real estate licensing statutes, we must presume that the district court found there was no agreement which would allow Diercks to assert such a defense. We therefore affirm the decision of the court below on this issue.