Complaint Review: ERA The Good Broker

On March 6, 2009, I had a closing on a real estate transaction that I had worked on for over a year.  My ex-Broker Joe Eman, ERA The Good Broker, told the Closing Attorney, Neil Morrisroe, that he had affiliated with ERA and ERA required all commissions to run through the company account and that I would not be able to get my commission at the closing table as had always happened in the past.  I asked the closing attorney not to give my check to Joe Eman as this was highly unusual.  Neil Morrisroe assured my that he had personally spoke with Joe Eman and had determined that there was nothing for me to be concerned about.  Mr. Morrisroe assured me that I would have my check in 24 hours and in the event I did not that he personally would get involved.  Neil Morrisroe informed me that in the State of Georgia there was no avenues available that Mr. Morrisroe could take other than give Joe Eman my check.  I learned later that Mr. Morrisroe could have remanded the check to the courts. 

Once Mr. Eman received my money, he informed me that he had no intention of giving me $1.00 of the money.  He let me know that it would take me years to recover my commission from the courts and that if I wanted to see anything from the closing I would need to renegotiate with him and MAYBE he would consider giving me half my money to be paid back in monthly payments as he had already spent the money.

I contacted Mr. Morrisroe and he informed me that his partner would represent me for $295 per hour and that I would need to Escrow several thousand in advance.

I contacted the DA in Cobb County and they informed me that if I had ever worked for or with Mr. Eman that it was not considered a crime by Cobb County's definition.  This was a "civil" matter NOT criminal.

I contacted the Real Estate Commission.  They said as long as Mr. Eman had an employment agreement with me that the Commission had no jurisdiction to make him comply with the Agreement.

I filed in Cobb County Court to force Mr. Eman to escrow the money until I could get a hearing.  The Judge ruled that he would not force Mr. Eman to escrow the funds as the Judge feared that Mr. Eman would later file an Appeal alleging the escrowed money prejudiced the Jury unfairly against him.  The Judge added that if he knew anything he figured that Joe had already spent the money anyway.  The Judge said that I had to show that irreparable damage would occur if the money was not escrowed and that the loss of my house was not irreparable as I "could" be awarded Punitive Damages.  The fact that I might not collect still did not make it irreparable in the Judge's opinion.

My attorney learned that Fraud and Theft are not covered by the Errors and Ommission Insurance.  He has resigned.

I went to the Atlanta Board of Realtors and they refused my complaint because it was not printed on their form.  They further informed me that they WOULD NOT INVESTIGATE while a lawsuit was pending so that alone could take years. 

I wrote letters to ERA.  They did not respond.

It has been over a year and I do not even have a court date or an Attorney that will represent me on a contingency basis.