You need to read and learn what you sign!
The argument you did not read what you signed is a no-go. It’s not an argument you want to bank on in any way, shape, or form.
Here’s an example. In a recent case, a seller signed an Exclusive Listing Agreement with a real estate broker. The broker brought the seller full value (and eve a higher value) offers. The seller declined all offers and the broker sued the seller for lost commission. An argument the seller raised was that the offers she received were not qualifying offers because they didn’t comply with a document that only she signed regarding instruction to agents submitting an offer.
First, “[i]n Florida, ‘where a broker procures a customer willing, ready, and able to purchase property offered for sale according to the terms of the offer, and the transaction is defeated on account of some fault of the principal, the broker is entitled to his commission, although the transaction is not consummated.’” Carmona Realty Group, LLC v. Fernandez, 51 Fla.L.Weekly D112b (Fla. 3d DCA 2026) (citation omitted).
Second, the instructions to agents that only the seller signed was not part of the Exclusive Listing Agreement. The Exclusive Listing Agreement stated it was the entire agreement. The broker did not sign the instructions. And the Exclusive Listing Agreement did not reference or incorporate the instructions and the instructions did not reference or incorporate the Exclusive Listing Agreement. Carmona Realty Group, supra (“A mere reference to another document is not sufficient to incorporate that other document into a contract, particularly where the incorporating document makes no specific reference that it is ‘subject to’ the collateral document.”) (citation omitted).
Third, the seller acknowledged she didn’t read the Exclusive Listing Agreement. That was a no-no. “‘ A party has a duty to learn and know the contents of an agreement before signing it’, and ‘[a]ny inquiries . . . concerning the ramifications of [the contract] should have been made before signing.’” Carmona Realty Group, supra (citation omitted).
The outcome—the broker was entitled to its commission.
Read your agreement!
Please contact David Adelstein at dadelstein@gmail.com or (954) 361-4720 if you have questions or would like more information regarding this article. You can follow David Adelstein on Twitter @DavidAdelstein1.