Sawyer v. Real Estate Agency

A license may be revoked and discipline assigned under ORS 696.775 and 696.301 even if the license has expired, so long as revocation of the license that existed at the time the Notice was issued as an appropriate sanction and is within the Real Estate Agency's discretion.

The Real Estate Agency issued a final order revoking petitioner's (Sawyer’s) real estate license based on her involvement in two real estate matters. In 2008 the McDonalds listed their home for sale with Sawyer. Sawyer showed the home to Whitney. McDonald's signed a disclosure form for dual representation not knowing Sawyer had a long standing relationship with Whitney. Whitney made an offer on the house with $1,000 in earnest money. Sawyer checked a box acknowledging receipt of a check for the earnest money, although petitionner had not received it. The transaction faltered and McDonalds kept the earnest money. In 2006 petitioner was appointed as agent and attorney-in-fact to Middleton. Contrary to a living trust that Sawyer was appointed to as successor trustee, Sawyer removed a spa from the Middleton home, which was to be sold to furnish the trust, and placed it within her own home, the costs of which were never compensated to the trust. A report for the trust stated that an additional $150,000 was invested in Sawyer 's company from the sale. ALJ concluded that petitioner had committed violations, but that Agency had no authority to revoke a license that does not exist. The Agency ordered that the license be revoked. Court concluded that the ALJ did not err in denying petitioner's motion to stay the proceedings or in failing to grant her use immunity. Nor did the agency err in determining that petitioner's conduct violated the statues and rules as specified or in revoking her license. Affirmed.