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Laws Of Agency Fiduciary DutiesTermination_and_liabilityMEDIUM

A California salesperson's employing broker discovers that the salesperson has been depositing earnest money checks into a personal bank account instead of the broker's trust account. Under California law, which of the following best describes the broker's supervisory responsibility?

Correct Answer

D) The broker must have a system for supervising trust funds and may be disciplined for not having one

Supervision is the broker's own duty, not a consequence of what a salesperson did. A broker with no system for overseeing trust funds can be disciplined for that failure whatever the salesperson's instructions were. Other choices: acting against instructions does not discharge the duty to supervise, or the duty would mean nothing; actual knowledge is not the test, since the point is to catch what you do not yet know; and no prior DRE discipline is required first.

Answer Options
A
The broker has no liability because the salesperson acted independently and against instructions
B
The broker is liable only if the broker had actual knowledge of the salesperson's misconduct
C
The broker is liable only if the salesperson has been disciplined by the DRE for similar conduct in the past
D
The broker must have a system for supervising trust funds and may be disciplined for not having one

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Related Topics & Key Terms

Key Terms:

broker_supervisiontrust_fundsB&P_10159disciplinary_action

Related Concepts

A practice where the agent or brokerage represents only one party in a transaction — either the buyer or the seller, but never both.

A relationship where a listing broker authorizes other brokers to act as agents of the seller, extending the seller's agency relationship to cooperating brokers.

A non-agency relationship where the broker facilitates a real estate transaction without representing either party, owing limited duties of honesty, fairness, and competence to both.

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