Does a broker have to pay commission on a listing or sale contract that provides for payment of commission only upon completion of the transaction?

The general rule does not apply, however, where the broker's contract specifies additional conditions on the payment of commission. In Cochran v. Ellsworth, supra, for example, a broker sued for his commission on a contract which provided for payment of commission " 'in the event of consummation of the sale,' " the first payment to be made " 'at the close of escrow.' " (126 Cal.App.2d at p. 439, 272

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Where the listing or sale contract provides for a commission only upon completion of the sale, the broker's cause of action does not arise, for purposes of Business and Professions Code section 10136, until the sale is completed. Thus in Brenneman v. Lane (1927) 87 Cal.App. 414, 415-416, 262 P. 400, the contract provided for a commission to be paid when certain property was deeded to the buyer and the escrow was "consummated." The deeds were recorded on June 29 or 30, at which time the broker was unlicensed. Payments from escrow, however, were not completed until after July 3, the date on which the broker received his license. (Id. at pp. 416-417, 262 P. 400.) Therefore, the court held, "at the time plaintiff's cause of action arose he was a licensed broker," and the cause of action was not barred under the predecessor statute to Business and Professions Code section 10136. (Id. at pp. 415, 417, 262 P. 400.)