Brody v. Alfieri

In Brody v. Alfieri, 179 N.J. Super. 485, 432 A.2d 567 (Ch.Div.1981), Judge Gaulkin held under the circumstances of that case, that the wrongful conduct of a real estate broker whose license had been forfeited by the Real Estate Commission, but who was permitted to engage in real estate activities while winding down his business, did subject the Guaranty Fund to liability, despite the unlicensed status of the broker. Brody was premised on the Commission's failure to "strip the broker of the authority granted to him under his broker's license," which unreasonably jeopardized members of the public by tacitly encouraging them to engage in business with a person already known by the Commission to be unscrupulous. Because the limited restrictions imposed on the broker's authority were inadequate, the public-at-large was unreasonably exposed to a significant risk of loss, leading Judge Gaulkin to conclude that extending the Fund's protections, despite the unlicensed status of the broker, was equitably justified. Id. at 491, 432 A.2d 567.