Iowa Supreme Court says it all boils down to possession of the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the most common hazards at a showing? Slip and falls\u2014and the lawsuits that might follow. But the particular circumstances of a case can have a big effect on the legal outcome, as demonstrated by a recent Iowa lawsuit in which a prospective buyer\u2019s fall on the property didn\u2019t result in broker liability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The case:<\/strong> After she slipped, fell, and injured herself on the icy driveway at a vacant for-sale home, prospective buyer Amanda DeSousa sued the homeowners, Matthew and Melissa Fynaardt, and the listing brokerage, Iowa Realty. Neither the Fynaardts nor the Iowa Realty broker were at the property that morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DeSousa, who visited the property with her buyer\u2019s agent, alleged the defendants were negligent because they didn\u2019t warn her about or remedy the icy driveway. Iowa Realty argued it owed no duty because it didn\u2019t own the property, none of its agents were there at the time and the danger was obvious. But DeSousa argued there was a material fact as to whether the list- ing broker controlled the property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The ruling:<\/strong> The Dallas County District Court denied Iowa Realty\u2019s motion for summary judgment, saying a jury could plausibly find the brokerage should have cleared the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Iowa Realty appealed the denial to the Iowa Supreme Court. The argument on both sides turned to whether the listing broker had a duty to protect prospective buyers from hazards on a property as the \u201cpossessor.\u201d Relying on state precedent, the court noted that a land possessor is someone who:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The court reversed the lower court\u2019s decision, ascribing a duty of safety only to the homeowners as \u201cpossessors\u201d of the property. The justices noted that Iowa Realty\u2019s sell- ing role didn\u2019t entitle the brokerage or its agents to occupy or control the property, likening the situation to vacationing homeowners leaving their keys with a neighbor. The court held that scheduling a showing doesn\u2019t transfer control, so Iowa Realty couldn\u2019t be held responsible for DeSousa\u2019s injuries. While the court didn\u2019t explicitly say so, it can be inferred from the language of the decision and from past case law that had the listing broker been there, the court might have found him liable in a \u201cdual possession\u201d capacity because he was conducting business on behalf of the owner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n