Translation:Shulchan Aruch/Choshen Mishpat/185

Paragraph 1- A broker is an agent, except that he takes payment for his agency. Thus, if he were to deviate from the wishes of the owners, he would pay for any loss. How so? If Reuven gave an item to Shimon the broker and told him to sell it and not sell it for less than 100, and he went and sold to it for 50, Shimon would pay the 50 out of pocket. If he sold for 200, the entire amount would belong to Reuven. If one sends an agent to bring an item to a certain place and because of that he gave him a gift, he has the status of a paid watchman.

Paragraph 2- An agent cannot purchase the item for himself, even at a price the owner allowed him to sell for.

Paragraph 3- If the owner gave the item to the broker to sell for four and the broker said after he received the item, “here is the four for the item,” and the seller agreed, the seller cannot retract, even though it was not originally given to him with this intent.

Paragraph 4- If the owner told the broker that he can keep any surplus, he would acquire the surplus, even if he was silent when the owner said it.

Paragraph 5-If Reuven said he told him to sell for 100 and the broker says Reuven told him 50 and that is what I sold for, the broker would take a biblical oath because he has partially confessed. If the broker already paid him 50 or said “here it is,” he would take a heses oath that he performed his agency and the purchaser would acquire the item. If the purchaser knew that the item belonged to Reuven and that the seller was a broker, he must return the item to the owners and place a cherem on anyone who gave permission to sell for 50 or agreed to 50 and retracted after the kinyan was made. There are those who say that the purchaser would not be required to return the item, even if the broker admits to the seller.

Paragraph 6- In any case where the broker told the purchaser that this item or property belonged to Reuven, and after the purchaser had acquired the item the seller said he did not want to sell for this price, the purchaser must return the item because he did not set a price and say sell for such and such price. There are those who say that this is only where the seller did not tell the broker anything at the time of deposit. If he told him sell for what you can, however, the seller cannot retract and whatever the broker has done is done. If Reuven had a house to sell and Shimon became the broker to sell to Levi, and Reuven said that Levi hates him and he does not want to sell him, and Reuven ended up selling to Levi via someone else, he is required to pay Shimon his brokerage fee.

Paragraph 7- Any broker who had the item misplaced or stolen would be required to pay because he is a paid guardian, even if it was misplaced while travelling to find a buyer.

Paragraph 8- If Reuven gave a ring to a broker to sell, and the stone from the ring was lost, the broker would swear he does not have the stone in his possession and would swear how much the stone was worth, and he would pay back its cost.

Paragraph 9- If one gave his vessels to a broker to give as collateral for him, and the broker says he does not know where he gave them as collateral, it is a case of negligence and he would be required to pay. If the owner said to give them as collateral to so and so and that’s what the broker did, and that so and so denied receiving it, the broker would be exempt.

Paragraph 10- If the broker gave the vessel to someone to check it, and the recipient did not want to return it, the broker would be required to pay. All the more so can a broker not sell an item on credit without permission from the owner. A matchmaker has the status of a broker. If the matchmaker wants payment immediately and the owners do not want to pay until after the wedding, the law is dependent on local custom. In a place without a custom, the owners would be in the right. In a place where one is not required to pay until the wedding and the parties backed out of the match, they would be exempt from paying the matchmaker unless they made an explicit condition that he would receive the money, in which case they would be required to pay immediately, even if they retracted.