Yes, you can sue a Florida real estate agent or broker for money when the agent misrepresented the property, hid a known defect or broke a duty the agent owed you. Aaron Resnick, a Miami real estate attorney with Law Offices of Aaron Resnick, handles these lawsuits. Aaron knows the law. He knows both sides. And he knows Miami.
A complaint to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) can discipline the agent's license but cannot recover money. The firm's page How to File a Complaint Against Your Realtor in Florida covers that track; this page covers the lawsuit.
What Duties Did My Real Estate Agent Owe Me?
It depends on the brokerage relationship. Under chapter 475, Florida Statutes, a licensee is presumed to be a transaction broker unless a single agent or no brokerage relationship is established in writing. A transaction broker must deal honestly and fairly, account for funds and use skill, care and diligence; a single agent also owes loyalty, confidentiality, obedience and full disclosure.
A transaction broker must also disclose known facts that materially affect the value of residential real property and are not readily observable to the buyer. A transaction broker does not represent either party in a fiduciary capacity. A single agent does.
Aaron Resnick reads the brokerage relationship disclosure first, because it decides which duties apply.
What Claims Can I Bring Against an Agent or Broker?
The usual claims are fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, negligence, breach of the brokerage agreement and, when the agent was a single agent, breach of fiduciary duty. Depending on the facts, a claim may name the agent, the brokerage, or both. Each claim has its own proof and its own deadline.
Aaron Resnick ties each claim to a document, a message or a witness before he files.
How Long Do I Have to Sue?
The deadline depends on the claim: under chapter 95, Florida Statutes, fraud generally has four years and a written contract action five. Florida treats brokers and sales associates as professionals. A professional malpractice claim by a person in privity has two years from discovery, or when it should have been discovered with due diligence, whether based on contract or tort.
Privity means a direct contractual relationship. A brokerage agreement creates privity between the parties to that agreement. A general negligence claim that accrued after March 24, 2023 has two years; one that accrued on or before that date keeps the earlier four year period.
For fraud, the period runs from when the facts were discovered or should have been discovered with due diligence, with a 12 year outside limit from the fraud itself.
A DBPR complaint does not by itself pause any of these deadlines. Aaron Resnick identifies the earliest possible deadline at the first review.
Which Court Hears a Lawsuit Against a Miami Real Estate Agent?
In Miami, a civil action with an amount in controversy of $50,000 or less, not counting interest, costs and attorney's fees, generally belongs in Miami-Dade County Court. A larger one generally goes to the circuit court of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit.
Before anyone files, read the listing agreement, the buyer brokerage agreement and the purchase contract for a mediation, arbitration or prevailing party attorney's fees clause. Aaron Resnick reads those clauses before he picks the forum.
What Can I Recover From an Agent or Broker?
Damages are the money the agent's conduct cost you, such as an overpayment, the cost of a defect the agent hid, or a lost deposit. Attorney's fees are generally recoverable when authorized by a contract, statute or court rule. Punitive damages are limited by chapter 768, Florida Statutes.
A claim for punitive damages cannot be added to a complaint until the claimant makes a reasonable evidentiary showing and the court allows the amendment. At trial, punitive damages require clear and convincing evidence of intentional misconduct or gross negligence. Additional requirements apply when they are sought against a brokerage for an agent's conduct.
If a judgment against an individual agent cannot be collected, Florida's Real Estate Recovery Fund may pay part of it; the firm's complaint page explains the fund's limits and deadline. Aaron Resnick checks whether the agent and the brokerage can pay before he files.
What Should I Have Ready?
Have the brokerage relationship disclosure, the listing or buyer brokerage agreement, the purchase contract, the closing statement, the inspection reports, the MLS listing and the agent's emails and text messages. Add the agent's license number from DBPR's license search. A short timeline of what the agent said and when helps Aaron Resnick organize the statements, documents and deadlines.
What Real Estate Commission and Deposit Cases Has Aaron Resnick Handled?
The Real Deal reported on June 6, 2019 that Aaron Resnick represented the seller entity in a suit over an unpaid commission on a $26 million Coral Gables auction sale. In 2012 he represented four NFL players who sued the developer of the W South Beach condo hotel to recover their deposits.
The firm's representative matters page describes both.
Related page: Miami Real Estate Litigation Lawyer for Property Disputes
Send the parties, the problem and the next date; the firm reviews every inquiry and tells you whether it can help.
We Don't Make Promises. We Have Results to Prove It.
Aaron Resnick has handled business disputes in Miami since 1998 and is a fourth generation Miami attorney. He works hands-on on every case; the client gets Aaron on every major litigation issue, not a junior partner. The Law Offices of Aaron Resnick represents property owners, buyers, investors and co-owners in Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties and across Florida in real estate litigation and property disputes. Call 305-672-7495 or request a consultation.
This page provides general information and is not legal advice. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome.
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