GOOD LIFE REALTY INC v. MASSEY KNAKAL REALTY OF MANHATTAN LLC (2012)

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Doris Ling–Cohan, J.), entered January 11, 2011, which granted defendant's motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, and denied plaintiff's cross motion for summary judgment, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

 Plaintiff failed to show that it was the “procuring cause” of the sale of the cooperative unit so as to qualify for a real estate brokerage commission (see Greene v. Hellman, 51 N.Y.2d 197, 205–206, 433 N.Y.S.2d 75, 412 N.E.2d 1301 [1980] ).   Plaintiff's principal made the buyer aware that the unit was being offered for sale, but there was no “direct and proximate link” between that “bare introduction and the consummation” (see id.).   Plaintiff's principal did not introduce the buyer to the seller, did not show the unit to the buyer, did not negotiate the sale price, did not personally see the unit, did not attend the closing, and had no contact with defendant, the broker exclusively responsible for listing the property (see id.;   Manning v. Briar Hall N., 151 A.D.2d 650, 542 N.Y.S.2d 711 [1989];  Taibi v. American Banknote Co., 135 A.D.2d 810, 522 N.Y.S.2d 914 [1987], lv. denied 72 N.Y.2d 803, 532 N.Y.S.2d 369, 528 N.E.2d 521 [1988] ).

Moreover, plaintiff and Joseph Klaynberg, the unlicensed third party who allegedly performed brokerage services on plaintiff's behalf, admitted that neither of them had entered into a co-brokerage agreement with defendant (see Brandenberg v. Waters Place Assoc., L.P., 17 A.D.3d 615, 794 N.Y.S.2d 80 [2005] ).

 In any event, plaintiff was barred by Real Property Law § 442–d from recovering a co-brokerage commission based upon services rendered by Klaynberg, because Klaynberg was not a duly licensed real estate broker or salesperson (see City Ctr. Real Estate, Inc. v. Berger, 39 A.D.3d 267, 833 N.Y.S.2d 75 [2007], lv. denied 9 N.Y.3d 814, 848 N.Y.S.2d 25, 878 N.E.2d 609 [2007];  Siegel v. Henry Fippinger, Inc., 264 App.Div. 203, 34 N.Y.S.2d 894 [1942] ).

Plaintiff's claim for money had and received is without merit.