Law360 reported on the 1st District Court of Appeals finding that oil and gas investors Brian Shanklin and Todd Rimmer could not invoke penalties imposed by the Texas Real Estate License Act because they did not pay the commission to Bassoe Offshore (USA) Inc. Mr. Shanklin and Mr. Rimmer had hired Bassoe to assist with acquiring offshore rigs from Pride International Inc. Pride later sold the rigs to Blake International, which had also been represented by Bassoe, according to the opinion. Mr. Shanklin and Mr. Rimmer filed suit against Bassoe alleging several breach of contract and fraud claims in addition to a cause of action under RELA, which allows "aggrieved parties" to recover commissions paid in real estate deals to unlicensed brokers. The court dismissed the RELA claim because Blake had paid commission on the sale to Bassoe, the investors did not qualify as aggrieved parties and the investors lacked standing to recover under the statute.
Bassoe is represented by Gardere Litigation Attorneys James G. Munisteri and Stacy R. Obenhaus.
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