2005 Grievance Committee Report

Why we need a Grievance Committee

Rick Smith, Chair
Grievance Committee

If disagreements never occurred between REALTORS® or between members and the general public, there would be little or no need for a Grievance Committee and ethics or arbitrations hearings. But we, as REALTORS®, no matter how hard we try, cannot begin to guarantee that disagreements will never arise in the course of our everyday real estate endeavors.

When something goes wrong, whether actual or just perceived misconduct or misdeeds, we as professionals are expected to `self police' ourselves within the guidelines of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics. We submit to a procedural due process for the resolution of our disputes within our own Board of REALTORS®.

To be a member of the National Association of REALTORS®, and of course the Columbus Board of REALTORS®, each of us agrees to abide by Code of Ethics.

Article 17 of our Code states, "in the event of contractual disputes or specific non-contractual disputes? REALTORS® shall submit the dispute to arbitration in accordance with the regulations of their Board or Boards rather than litigate the matter."

Clients of REALTORS® may also request a hearing before the board on disagreements arising out of transactions involving either contractual disputes or ethical misdeeds by the REALTORS®, provided that the clients agree to be bound by the decision.

The purpose of this article is to summarize the procedure rather than to give a full picture of the arbitration process. For a more detailed illumination of the process, refer to the Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual and the manual entitled Professionalism in Real Estate Practice 2005 both available through your local CBR or NAR office.

Once a written complaint is filed through the board staff against a member or between members, the original complaint letter, written response and any subsequent additional complaint/response are presented to the Grievance Committee. This committee reviews ethics complaints and arbitration requests in a committee setting addressing proper procedure (paper trail) and whether the claim(s) made warrant moving the complaint forward to a hearing by the Professional Standards Committee.

The Grievance Committee has a detailed checklist of proper procedural standards that must be complied with to properly move a complaint along for a hearing:

1. Is the complaint submitted in proper form? 
2. Are all necessary parties named in the complaint? 
3. Was the complaint filed within 180 days of the alleged offense? 
4. Is the respondent a member of the board? 
5. Is any related litigation or governmental investigation pending? 
6. Are the specific Articles cited appropriate in light of the facts provided? (Should additional Articles be cited, etc.)

In reviewing requests for hearings, it should be recognized that the Grievance Committee is not to take such actions that could be interpreted as rendering any decision on the merits of the complaint. The function of the Grievance Committee is not to be confused with that of the Professional Standards Committee. The Code of Ethics and Arbitrations Manual states, "If the function of the Professional Standards Committee is understood to be similar to a court, the function of the Grievance Committee can then be understood as similar to that of the Grand Jury. The Grievance Committee receives (the) ethics complaints and arbitration requests to determine if, taken as true on their face, a hearing is to be warranted."

After all relevant questions have been considered, the Grievance Committee then votes on whether or not to move the complaint on to the Professional Standards Committee for a hearing by an Ethics or an Arbitration Hearing Panel.

None of us in the profession ever want to find ourselves on either end of this sometimes rather tedious process. It is a fact of reality that, due to the complexities of our business, each and every one of us could (no matter how carefully we conduct ourselves) find that somebody is "not happy" with the results of one of our transactions, whether it is one of our fellow REALTORS® or a member of the public.

It is imperative that we know our rights and are familiar with the process and responsibilities when it comes to this procedure. Due process requires nothing more than a fair and diligent search for the truth with the opportunity of all facts to be gathered, all sides to be heard, all argument and all defenses raised, all merits weighed. This process allows us to ensure that our members maintain a high but realistic standard of performance while protecting the public trust.