Exhibit A Original Transcript
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF SOUTH CAROLINA COLUMBIA DIVISION
United States of America, Plaintiff, -vs- Consolidated Multiple Listing Services, Incorporated, Defendant.
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| Case No: 3:08-CV-01786-SB |
DEPOSITION OF Robert Baucom February 12, 2009 9:35 a.m. Woodward, Cothran & Herndon 440 Knox Abbott Drive, Suite 200 Cayce, South Carolina REPORTED BY: Missy Graczyk, Court Reporter RECEIVED FEB 18 2009 LITIGATION III, ANTITRUST DIV. U.S. DEPT. OF JUSTICE
106 1 | to comport with other CMLS rules? | 2 | A Just to be sure that, yeah that says it, there's a
| 3 | possibility that the State form could actually be in
| 4 | conflict with something that's in our rules, if you
| 5 | actually, I don't know what that would be, because
| 6 | I'm not really, that would be the reason.
| 7 | Q But you haven't had any problems with people using
| 8 | the South Carolina Association of Realtors EA Form?
| 9 | A No, and I only went to, you know, we have -- no.
| 10 | Q CMLS still requires that all offers be submitted to
| 11 | listing brokers, correct?
| 12 | A Yes, that's what the Rule says.
| 13 | Q And there's no modification of that Rule with respect
| 14 | to, with an agency listing?
| 15 | A You mean that you would have to do ERTS and not EA?
| 16 | Q No, I'm saying, there's no exception where the
| 17 | listing agreement is an Exclusive Agency that would
| 18 | allow offers to go directly to the home seller?
| 19 | A No.
| 20 | Q Why is it that even if the seller wants to receive
| 21 | offers directly, CMLS prohibits them from doing so?
| 22 | A I don't think it's a prohibition as such, and you
| 23 | know, I think if you read the State Statute, that's a
| 24 | gray area as to whether or not, how it gets. It says
| 25 | that you have to prepare and present to the seller
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107 1 | any and all offers, you know, and to sit down and | 2 | just interpret legally, not being a lawyer, you know,
| 3 | what that means versus what our rules mean. I don't
| 4 | have any idea. I mean, does it say that it can't,
| 5 | that South Carolina law doesn't say it has to be, as
| 6 | I recall it, doesn't say that it has to be presented,
| 7 | or can be presented directly to the seller. It says
| 8 | that the listing agent or the agent for the seller
| 9 | has to prepare and present all offers to the seller.
| 10 | Q So you believe that requirement, you believe that
| 11 | South Carolina law requires offers to go to the
| 12 | broker and that they cannot be given directly to a
| 13 | home seller?
| 14 | A I think that was the consensus of everybody on the
| 15 | Board when this issue first came up. I mean,
| 16 | recalling the conversations that we've had about
| 17 | that, that that's what everybody thought.
| 18 | Q Based on its interpretation of South Carolina law?
| 19 | A Yeah.
| 20 | Q But you acknowledge that it's sort of a gray area?
| 21 | A I do.
| 22 | Q Did CMLS recently make changes with respect to its
| 23 | requirement on signage?
| 24 | A I don't think that's been recent. Well yeah, there
| 25 | was a change in signage that I've been pushing for |
138 CERTIFICATE OF REPORTER I , Missy A. Graczyk, Court Reporter and Notary Public for the State of South Carolina at Large, do hereby certify: That the foregoing deposition was taken before me on the date and at the time and location stated on page 1 of this transcript; that the deponent was duly sworn to testify to the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth; that the testimony of the deponent and all objections made at the time of the examination were recorded stenographically by me and were thereafter transcribed; that the foregoing deposition as typed is a true, accurate and complete record of the testimony of the deponent and of all objections made at the time of the examination to the best of my ability. I further certify that I am neither related to nor counsel for any party to the cause pending or interested in the events thereof. Witness my hand, I have hereunto affixed my official seal this 16th day of February, 2009, at Columbia, Lexington County, South Carolina. | _______________/s/________________ Missy A. Graczyk, Court Reporter Notary Public State of South Carolina My Commission Expires: January 18, 2010 | |