Texas Association of REALTORS® Legal Fund

There is a formal application and certification that an applicant, or his attorney, must complete. The application is submitted to the applicant’s local association for review. The local association may forward the application to the Texas REALTORS® Legal Review Committee recommending that the application be approved, or it may deny the application and return it to the applicant. The Legal Review Committee, in turn, makes a recommendation to the Texas REALTORS® Board of Directors either to approve or deny the application. Probably, the most crucial requirement to satisfy in the application process is that the case must be of significance to REALTORS® as a class or the real estate industry as a whole.

Every six months, the Texas REALTORS® Legal Review Committee reviews applications and requests for funding from the Legal Fund from Texas REALTORS® and litigants involving cases that significantly affect the entire real estate industry. A brief summary of three recent cases is noted below. Case 1: A REALTOR® was sued by a buyer who alleged the agent failed to properly advise him that the property lay near an environmentally contaminated site. At the time of the contract, the agent provided the buyer with a detailed written statement (signed by the buyer) about the toxic dangers and health hazards posed to residents of the subdivision, since it was known that a nearby site was environmentally contaminated. The REALTOR®'s errors-and-omissions insurance carrier refused coverage on the basis that the claim involved bodily injury that was excepted from the policy. The buyers originally alleged damages in excess of $30 million. The legal fund assisted the defendant in resolving the case favorably. Case 2: The association filed an amicus brief in an Austin case in which a savings and loan association filed suit against the attorney general of Texas, arguing that federal regulations preempted the Texas Constitution regarding its homestead protection. The Austin Federal District Court disregarded the savings and loan’s claims and upheld the Texas Constitution. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and held that the Texas Constitution had been superseded. The case was ultimately moot as a result of Congressional action initiated by Rep. Gonzales of San Antonio that amended the Home Owner Loan Act so that it was clear that Congress did not intend to supersede the Texas Constitution. Through the Legal Fund, the Texas REALTORS® was able to monitor and participate in the action. Case 3: A REALTOR® was sued by a buyer alleging that the agent did not disclose that the property lay in a flood-prone area or that the property had previously flooded. The buyer purchased the property under an assumption and refinanced the lien six months after closing. At the time of the purchase, flood maps for the area showed the property not to lie in a flood hazard area. About a month after closing, the flood maps were revised and included the property in a flood hazard area. At the time of the refinance a survey incorrectly stated that the property did not lie in a flood hazard area. Three years after the purchase, the property flooded and the buyers then learned that the property had previously flooded. The case proceeded to a jury which found for the defendant REALTOR®. The Legal Fund was able to assist the REALTOR® in defeating the unfounded claim.

The Legal Fund is used for a number of expressed purposes: 1. Helping Texas REALTORS® understand their legal rights and duties under law 2. Providing legal assistance for matters pending in court or governmental agencies 3. Defraying all or a portion of legal expenses for pending litigation in which a member is a party 4. Defraying legal expenses for cases in which the association intervenes or files briefs as a friend of the court 5. Monitoring and participating in the actions of governmental agencies 6. Reimbursing travel expenses of Texas REALTORS® who participate in form-development task forces

The Texas REALTORS® Legal Fund is maintained by the association through the oversight of the Legal Review Committee. The fund is used only for purposes authorized by the Texas REALTORS® Board of Directors and may only be accessed by REALTORS® through a formal application process. It is primarily reserved for paying the legal expenses of cases that are significant to Texas REALTORS® as a class or the real estate industry.

The rules and regulations of the legal fund set forth specifically all of the application procedures and the requirements that must be met before assistance from the legal fund may be authorized. For copies of the procedures or applications, contact the Legal Affairs Department.

No. The legal fund is not a substitute for errors-and-omissions insurance. The Texas REALTORS® strongly encourages members to maintain E&O insurance. There are many lawsuits in which a Texas REALTOR® may be involved that are not significant to Texas REALTORS® or the real estate industry as a whole. In fact, the Legal Review Committee recommends that a number of applications be denied each year.

No. The Real Estate Recovery Fund is a fund created by the Real Estate License Act that is maintained by the Texas Real Estate Commission (the state agency regulating Texas real estate brokers and salesmen). The Recovery Fund is funded by a $10 fee paid with every broker’s or salesman’s original license application. The recovery fund is a state-run consumer protection fund used to reimburse aggrieved persons who suffer actual damages by reasons of certain acts committed by brokers, salesmen, or their unlicensed employees or agents. A number of statutory elements must be satisfied by the consumer before he can file a claim for payment out of the recovery fund, including first obtaining a judgment against the broker or salesman that is not satisfied.

Very rarely. Ultimately, the board of directors must make a determination if the use of the Legal Fund satisfies the purposes and intent of the fund. Persons who are not members of the REALTOR® organization have asked TAR to file amicus briefs in cases in which no REALTOR® is involved. For example, litigants in one case involving antitrust issues asked the association to file briefs with the court. In another case, litigants in a city-zoning dispute asked the Texas REALTORS® to file briefs with the court. After careful review, the board of directors chose not to file the requested briefs. However, the fund has been used to pay for expenses in filing briefs in cases involving homestead issues (as discussed above), contractual issues and other issues. It has also been used to fund the filing of analyses and comments before governmental agencies. In each of these cases, the board of directors determined that there was a significance to REALTORS® as a class.