In a Minnesota transaction, Broker Kim's company has a listing on a property. A buyer who has no agent contacts Broker Kim directly and asks her to help him purchase the listed property. Broker Kim wants to avoid dual agency. She assigns one of her licensed agents, Mike, to work with the buyer as a facilitator, while she continues to represent the seller. Both parties receive written disclosures. Later, the buyer claims Mike was effectively acting as his agent because Mike answered all his questions and helped him structure the offer. Under Minnesota law, which of the following is most accurate?

Correct Answer

B) Mike's conduct of answering questions and helping structure the offer may have created an implied agency with the buyer, despite the facilitator disclosure

Under Minn. Stat. Ch. 82, an initial written facilitator disclosure does not provide absolute protection against an implied agency claim if the licensee's subsequent conduct is inconsistent with the facilitator role. If Mike answered the buyer's questions in a way that provided strategic advice and helped the buyer structure an offer to the buyer's advantage, his conduct may have crossed into implied buyer's agency. Minnesota courts and the Department of Commerce look at the totality of the licensee's conduct, not just the initial disclosure, when determining whether an agency relationship was created.