Mel Foster leader files lawsuit against RE/MAX
The battle between Mel Foster Co. and RE/MAX River Cities is escalating, with the president of Mel Foster Co. filing a libel lawsuit against RE/MAX and three of its owners.
Bonnie Sparks-Gray is accusing Thomas Swanwick, Susan Banks and Daniel Jeffries of libeling her with a letter sent to the Council of Real Estate Brokerage Managers, of which she was president.
The letter accused Sparks-Gray of unethical behavior in a fight over Mel Foster taking a bigger commission split when RE/MAX agents are involved in the sale of property listed by Mel Foster. That fight led to RE/MAX filing a lawsuit against Mel Foster last year. It is set to go to trial in June.
“We all personally like Bonnie,” the letter sent in November said. “It is her 180 degree turn away from ethics and her run to the bank we are not comfortable with. We also realize Bonnie has to make a living, but do you sell your soul to the devil for a few dollars?”
Swanwick, who signed the letter with Banks, said the letter was meant to inform the organization of an “indefensible” action. The lawsuit says Jeffries approved the letter.
“This is really a stretch,” Swanwick said of the libel lawsuit. He went on to say that the commission split Mel Foster imposed on RE/MAX is the most severe in the country at 80/20.
Banks added: “We’re not being treated fairly. They are trying to put us out of business.”
“I just want to sell real estate like everyone else does in the Quad-Cities.”
Jeffries and Sparks-Gray could not be reached for comment.
RE/MAX River Cities filed its lawsuit against Mel Foster Co. after getting sudden notice that the company planned to take a bigger commission split when a RE/MAX agent sells one of Mel Foster’s property listings.
The notice gave RE/MAX two days notice that Mel Foster was excluding RE/MAX from a 60/40 cooperative commission split offered by Mel Foster in the Quad-Cities.
“In order to best satisfy both our buyer and our seller needs, we at Mel Foster Co. Inc. are certain that our companies will continue our cooperative split,” the letter states.
The letter did not explain why RE/MAX was being excluded from the original agreement.
Ann McGlynn can be contacted at (563) 383-2336 or amcglynn@qctimes.com.