Civil Case (B.Y.) 14446-07-22 Amir Ben Hamo vs. Madonna Efron

Judgment

I have before me a claim for payment of brokerage fees in the sum of ILS 100,000

Background

1. The plaintiff is a realtor, licensed to broker real estate, who engaged in brokerage at the relevant times of the claim. The plaintiff runs an active Facebook group, in which he periodically uploads conference ads, which he photographs from the press.
2. The defendant contacted the plaintiff on January 12, 2022, via the Facebook network regarding the apartment being sold in a receivership proceeding that the plaintiff advertised. This is an apartment located at 68 Mohliver Street in the city of Or Yehuda (hereinafter: the "Apartment").
3. On the same day, the defendant signed an electronic signature on the form "Ordering Brokerage Services for the Purchase of Real Estate Property" (hereinafter: the "Agreement"). The details of the property specified in the agreement are the details of the apartment.  In accordance with the provisions of the agreement, the defendant undertook to pay brokerage fees in the amount of 2% of the total purchase price of the property plus VAT, while the requested price of the apartment specified in the agreement was ILS 3,500,000.  In accordance with clause 2 of the agreement, the defendant undertook to report to the plaintiff immediately upon the signing of a binding agreement or the signing of an undertaking to execute the transaction regarding the apartment.
4. The defendant purchased the apartment from the receiver on February 27, 2022, for the sum of ILS 3,550,000.
5. The main question that must be decided is whether the plaintiff is the effective factor in the transaction that was ultimately formulated between the receiver of the apartment and the defendant. If he is indeed the effective factor in the transaction that has been formed, then he is entitled to brokerage fees.
6. I will note at this point that my conclusion is that the plaintiff did not serve as the effective factor in the transaction that was formulated and accordingly he is not entitled to brokerage fees.

The parties' arguments