Real Estate Council of Ontario DISCIPLINE DECISION IN THE MATTER OF A DISCIPLINE HEARING HELD PURSUANT TO THE REAL ESTATE AND BUSINESS BROKERS ACT, 2002, S.O. 2002, c. 30, Sch. C BETWEEN: REGISTRAR UNDER THE REAL ESTATE AND BUSINESS BROKERS ACT, 2002 - AND- AMARJOT LAMBA (also known as AJ LAMBA) Heard on the 22 nd day of October, 2013 at Toronto, Ontario FINDINGS: ORDER: COSTS AND EXPENSES: In violation of Sections 3, 4, 29 and 38 of the Code of Ethics. Fine of $10,000.00 payable to RECO on or before October 31, 2014. N/A WRITTEN REASONS: REASONS FOR DECISION INTRODUCTION This hearing was held on October 22, 2013 in the presence of the Respondent, Amarjot Lamba, also known as AJ Lamba; Paul Dollak, counsel for Mr. Lamba; George Drametu, counsel for the Real Estate Council of Ontario; and Chantal Marler, paralegal for the Real Estate Council of Ontario. Prior to the Panel determining whether Mr. Lamba failed to comply with the Code of Ethics as alleged in the Allegation Statement, the Panel was advised that the Parties had entered into an Agreed Statement of Facts and Penalty. The Agreed Statement of Facts and Penalty read: Page 1 of 7
AGREED STATEMENT OF FACTS AND PENALTY 1. Lamba is registered as a salesperson under the Act. At all material times described herein, Lamba was registered with, and carried on business on behalf of, Brokerage A. Lamba is currently registered with Brokerage B. 2. Registrant C is registered as a broker under the Act. At all material times Registrant C was registered with, and carried on business on behalf of, Brokerage C. 3. On or about November 30, 2011, the Financial Institution listed a property located at 1- A Street (the Property ) with Brokerage A, which then placed it on the Multiple Listing System of the Real Estate Board. Lamba was the listing sales representative. The Property was listed under Power of Sale. 4. The salient provisions of the listing agreement between the Financial Institution and Brokerage A were as follows: a) The listing was valid until February 29, 2012 b) The asking price was $468,000.00 c) The commission payable was 4.6% d) The listing brokerage was authorized to cooperate with other brokerages and pay the co-operating brokerage a commission of 2%. 5. On or about January 16, 2012, Registrant C, on behalf of Buyer C1, C2 and C3 (the Buyers ), presented an offer to purchase the Property (the January 16, 2012 Offer ). The details of the January 16, 2012 Offer were as follows; a) Offered price was $440,500.00 b) A deposit of $10,000.00 was payable to Brokerage A upon acceptance c) The offer was irrevocable until 11:30 p.m. on January 18, 2012 d) The completion date was February 24, 2012 6. The January 16, 2012 Offer was conditional on the Buyers arranging financing within two business day of the acceptance of it. 7. The January 16, 2012 Offer was sent, by Registrant C to Brokerage A via facsimile on January 16, 2012, at or about 4:14 p.m. The transaction report indicated that 16 pages of material were sent to ###-###-#### and the transaction was reported to have progressed OK. 8. On the fax cover sheet accompanying the January 16, 2012 Offer, Lamba was asked to call Registrant C if he had any questions. Following the dispatch of the January 16, 2012 Offer by fax, Registrant C confirmed with the receptionist at Brokerage A that the January 16, 2012 Offer had not only been received by Brokerage A but that Lamba had been paged and informed of the receipt. 9. Registrant C was not contacted by Lamba following the dispatch of the January 16, 2012 Offer. A few days after the dispatch of the January 16, 2012 Offer, Registrant C called Brokerage A and asked that Lamba be paged. 10. Subsequently, the Buyers discovered that the Property was sold on January 31, 2012, for $420,000.00. This was $20,500.00 less than what the Buyers had offered in the January 16, 2012 Offer. Page 2 of 7
11. A review of the print-out from the Real Estate Board MLS indicates that the cooperating salespersons involved in the sale of the Property were Lamba and one Registrant A1, who was also registered with Brokerage A. 12. On or about February 14, 2012, Registrant C wrote to Lamba (the February 14, 2012 Letter ). A copy of the February 14, 2012 Letter was sent to Broker of Record A for Brokerage A. 13. In the February 14, 2012 Letter, Registrant C advised that: a) The January 16, 2012 Offer was faxed to Brokerage A and Lamba on January 16, 2012 and b) The Buyers had become aware that the Property was sold on January 31, 2012 for $420,000.00. Registrant C asked for proof that the January 16, 2012 Offer had indeed been presented to the Financial Institution. 14. Enclosed with the February 14, 2012 Letter were the following: a) A copy of the print-out from the Real Estate Board MLS confirming that the Property was sold on January 31, 2012 for $420,000.00, b) A copy of the January 16, 2012 Offer with attached Schedules, c) A copy of the Confirmation of Co-operation and Representation. 15. On or about March 2, 2012, the Office of the Registrar received a complaint letter from Registrant C (the March 2, 2012 Complaint ). Enclosed with the March 2, 2012 Complaint were the following documents: a) Fax cover sheets for faxes from Registrant C to Lamba and Broker of Record A dated February 14, 2012; b) A copy of the February 14, 2012 Letter; c) A copy of the print-out from the Real Estate Board MLS system confirming that the Property was sold on January 31, 2012 for $420,000.00; d) A copy of the January 16, 2012 Offer with attached Schedules; e) A copy of the Confirmation of Co-operation and Representation, and f) A copy of the fax cover and transmission confirmation for the January 16, 2012 Offer. 16. On or about April 19, 2012, the Office of the Registrar received a letter from Lamba in response to the March 2, 2012 Complaint (the April 19, 2012 Letter ). In the April 19, 2012 Letter, Lamba stated, among other things, the following: a) Registrant C called him on a number of occasions and he did respond to all Registrant C s questions; b) He never received the copy of the January 16, 2012 Offer; c) There is no record even at the front desk of Brokerage A that the January 16, 2012 Offer was received; d) The only time he received an offer from Registrant C was with the February 14, 2012 Letter; and e) There is no proof that the January 16, 2012 Offer was received or forwarded to him. Page 3 of 7
17. Attached to the April 19, 2012 Letter were the following documents: a) A list of all the messages received in connection to the Property between November 30, 2011 and February 14, 2012; b) An MLS print out of the Property listing with all the historical information; c) A fax from Registrant C dated February 14, 2012 along with the January 16, 2012 Offer; d) E-mail Correspondence between Lamba and Brokerage A between April 11, 2012 and April 12, 2012. 18. The list of messages received by Brokerage A between November 30, 2011 and February 14, 2012 confirm the following: a) Brokerage A received the January 16, 2012 Offer from Registrant C on January 16, 2012, b) On January 16, 2012, the front desk of Brokerage A paged Lamba to inform him of the receipt of the January 16, 2012 Offer, c) On January 16, 2012, the front desk of Brokerage A paged Lamba and advised him to call Registrant C, d) On January 20, 2012, Lamba was paged for the fourth rime to advise him to call Registrant C in relation to the January 16, 2012 Offer. 19. In an e-mail correspondence between Lamba and someone known as Individual A at Brokerage A between April 2, 2012 and April 12, 2012, Lamba inquired whether the January 16, 2012 Offer was ever received and why it was not e-mailed to him by Brokerage A. 20. In response to the inquiry mentioned in paragraph 19 above, the deal administrator of Brokerage A confirmed with Lamba that the information concerning the January 16, 2012 Offer was sent to Lamba at 5:05 p.m. on January 16, 2012. 21. On or about April 24, 2012, the Office of the Registrar received a copy of the Trade Record Sheet from the Property from Brokerage A. The Trade Record Sheet disclosed that the Property was sold for $420,000.00. Of the total commission paid, Lamba received $11,868.15. 22. On or about May 15, 2012, the Office of the Registrar received a letter of response from Broker of Record A (the May 15, 2012 Letter ). In the May 15, 2012 letter, Broker of Record A stated as follows: a) Brokerage A received the January 16, 2012 Offer on January 16, 2012 at 4:23 p.m., b) Brokerage A sent a page to Lamba informing him of the January 16, 2012 Offer at 5:05 p.m. on January 16, 2012, and c) Brokerage A e-mailed the January 16, 2012 Offer to Lamba at 5:06 p.m. on January 16, 2012. 23. Along with the May 15, 2012 Letter, Broker of Record A sent the following: a) A copy of the Listing Agreement for the Property, b) A Trade Record Sheet for the transaction, c) A copy of the successful Agreement of Purchase and Sale for the Property with Schedules thereto, dated January 21, 2012 (the January 21, 2012 Offer ), Page 4 of 7
d) A list of the seven offers for the Property registered through Brokerage A, and e) A copy of the brokerage s listings policies and procedures. 24. The details of the January 21, 2012 Offer were as follows: a) The agreement between Consumer A and the Financial Institution. b) The offered price was $416,000.00. c) The irrevocable date was January 25, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. d) The completion date was February 29, 2012. 25. The Financial Institution counter-offered the January 21, 2012 Offer with a sale price of $425,000.00. The counter offer was accepted by Consumer A at 8:15 p.m. on January 24, 2012. 26. By an Amendment to the January 21, 2012 Offer, dated January 31, 2012, the price of the Property was changed to $420,000.00. 27. On May 16, 2012, Lamba forwarded to RECO a copy of an e-mail he sent to Broker of Record A regarding the January 16, 2012 Offer. 28. On or about May 24, 2012, Lamba sent an e-mail to the Office of the Registrar. In this e-mail, Lamba stated, among other things, that he was not receiving a response from Brokerage A as to why the January 16, 2012 Offer was not forwarded to him. 29. On June 1, 2012, the Office of the Registrar received a response from Registrant A2 and Registrant A1. In his response, Registrant A2 stated that he acted as a mentor to Registrant A1 who was the buyer s sales representative. SUMMARY OF AGREEMENTS It is agreed that Lamba acted unprofessionally including as follows: 1. By failing to treat the Buyers and Registrant C fairly when he failed and/or omitted to deliver the January 16, 2012 Offer to the seller thereby breaching section 3 of the Code of Ethics. 2. By failing to treat the Buyers and Registrant C fairly when he failed and/or omitted to deliver the January 16, 2012 Offer to the seller thereby breaching section 29 of the Code of Ethics. 3. By failing to prevent error with respect to a trade in real estate when he failed and/or omitted to deliver the January 16, 2012 Offer to the seller, thereby breaching section 38 of the Code of Ethics. 4. By failing and/or omitting to deliver the January 16, 2012 Offer to the seller thereby breaching section 39 of the Code of Ethics. It is agreed that Lamba has breached the following sections of the Code of Ethics: Fairness, honesty, etc. 3. A registrant shall treat every person the registrant deals with in the course of a trade in real estate fairly, honestly and with integrity. Page 5 of 7
Best interests 4. A registrant shall promote and protect the best interests of the registrant s clients. Delivery of deposits and documents 29. Except as otherwise provided by law, if a registrant is representing a client or providing services to a customer in connection with a trade in real estate, and the client or customer has entered into an agreement in connection with the trade that requires the registrant to deliver a deposit or documents, the registrant shall deliver the deposit or documents in accordance with the agreement. Error, misrepresentation, fraud, etc. 38. A registrant shall use the registrant s best efforts to prevent error, misrepresentation, fraud or any unethical practice in respect of a trade in real estate. AGREED PENALTY Amarjot Lamba A.K.A. AJ Lamba, the Respondent, be ordered to pay a penalty of $10,000.00 on or before October 31, 2014. By initials below, I, Amarjot Lamba A.K.A. AJ Lamba, acknowledge that I have read and understand the penalty outlined herein and agree to the said terms and/or conditions. [Respondent s Initials] By initials below, I, Amarjot Lamba A.K.A. AJ Lamba, agree, understand, acknowledge and consent to waive the requirement for a hearing and to request an Order from the Chair of the Discipline Committee that includes this Agreed Statement of Facts and Penalty as a final settlement of this matter. [Respondent s Initials] By initials below, I, Amarjot Lamba A.K.A. AJ Lamba, acknowledge that I exercised my right to be represented by Counsel or agent in this matter. [Respondent s Initials] By signature below the Parties agree, acknowledge, understand and consent to the final settlement of this matter by way of this Agreed Statement of Facts and Penalty. [The Agreed Statement was duly signed by the Parties.] EXHIBITS 1. Notice of Hearing, dated October 1, 2013 2. Agreed Statement of Facts and Penalty, dated October 22, 2013 CODE OF ETHICS The Registrant is governed by the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act, 2002, S.O. 2002, c.30, Schedule C ( REBBA 2002 ). Page 6 of 7
This Discipline Committee is established to hear and determine these issues, in accordance with the prescribed Regulations. The Discipline Committee must determine if the Registrant has failed to comply with the Code of Ethics established by the Minister in accordance with Section 21 of the REBBA 2002. Section 50 of the REBBA 2002 provides that the Minister may make Regulations establishing a Code of Ethics for the purposes of subsection 21(1). Ontario Regulation 580/05 is the Code of Ethics pursuant to the REBBA 2002 and is the Code of Ethics that governs these proceedings. DECISION OF THE PANEL Having reviewed and considered the Agreed Statement of Facts, the Panel concluded that Mr. Lamba breached Sections 3, 4, 29 and 38 of the REBBA 2002 Code of Ethics. The Panel is also in agreement with the joint submission of the Parties as to penalty and accordingly makes the following Order: 1. Amarjot Lamba, also known as AJ Lamba, is Ordered a Fine of $10,000.00 payable to RECO on or before October 31, 2014. [Released: November 21, 2013] Page 7 of 7