Hawkins v. Voss

Parties entered into oral agreement that Defendants, in auction business, would procure buyers for Plaintiff's home which was in her own revocable trust of which she was trustee. Defendants successfully found buyers, but buyers reneged on purchase. Section 15 of Residential Real Property Disclosure Act exempts a trustee, as a fiduciary in course of administration of a trust, selling her own trust's real estate from requirement that she provide a disclosure form to buyers.The fact that trustee and beneficiary are the same person does not erase fiduciary role Plaintiff assumes. Thus, Defendants had no duty to provide Plaintiff a disclosure form to give to buyers, under Section 20 of the Act, and their alleged failure to provide form was not a breach of contract or fiduciary duty and not negligence. (CATES and CHAPMAN, concurring.)