G.C. Timmis & Co. v. Guardian Alarm Co.

G.C. Timmis & Company (Timmis) (plaintiff) was not a licensed real estate broker. Timmis contracted with Guardian Alarm Company (Guardian) (defendant) to find companies that Guardian could purchase. The agreement provided a fee for Timmis whenever it found a company that Guardian ultimately purchased. Timmis found a company, MetroCell, for Guardian to purchase, and Guardian purchased the company. Guardian, however, declined to pay Timmis the fee because Timmis was not a licensed real estate broker. Michigan’s Occupational Code (the code) regulated several different professions. Each article within the code regulated a separate, single profession. Within the code, the real estate brokers act (REBA) defined “real estate broker” as an individual who (1) buys or sells real estate market analysis, (2) negotiates for the purchase, sale, or mortgage of real estate, (3) leases real estate as a vocation, (4) manages property as a vocation, (5) “sells or offers for sale, buys or offers to buy, leases or offers to lease or negotiates the purchase . . . of a business, business opportunity, or the goodwill of an existing business for others,” or (6) engages in the sale of real estate as a principal vocation. Timmis sued Guardian, seeking to recover the fee under the contract. The court denied Guardian’s motion for summary disposition, and Guardian appealed. The court of appeals reversed, holding that REBA covered the brokerage of more than simply real estate and that Timmis was acting as a real estate broker without a license and thus was not entitled to payment. Timmis appealed.