Quasi-contracts: Weichert Co. Realtors v. Ryan

Quasi-Contract

A quasi-contract is actually not a contract, but a relationship that is treated "as if" (quasi, in Latin) it is a contract to prevent injustice. A quasi-contract usually is found where there is neither an express nor an implied contract, but one party has clearly received something of value that should be paid for.

For example, in the Weichert case below, Tackaberry was a real estate salesman employed by Weichert. The owner of a large property told Tackaberry in March that he wanted to sell, with the real estate sales commission to be paid by the buyer. Tackaberry notified Ryan, a real estate developer, of the fact that the property was for sale, and Ryan asked for more information. Tackaberry collected and gave Ryan information on the property's current leases, income, expenses, plans for its eventual development, tax and zoning. Tackaberry tried several times to get Ryan to sign a written agreement to pay Tackaberry a ten percent sales commission, but Ryan refused to sign the commission  agreement. Ryan kept telling Tackaberry that “ten percent was too much,” and that he would discuss the commission later.

Ryan never signed any commission agreement with Tackaberry. Tackaberry continued to participate in the sale by carrying documents between the parties and offering negotiating advice. Ryan offered to pay Tackaberry $75,000 in installments as a commission, and later offered $150,000 as a commission, but Tackaberry refused to accept anything other than ten percent of the sale price (a commission expected to be $300,000). Ryan bought the property for $3 million. Weichert later sued Ryan for the amount of Tackaberry’s sales commission.