REALTOR^® A, who held an exclusive listing of Client B's property, invited REALTOR^® C to cooperate with him. When REALTOR^® C, shortly thereafter, received an offer to purchase the property and took it to REALTOR^® A, the latter took REALTOR^® C with him to present the offer to Client B, and negotiations for the sale were started. The next day, REALTOR^® C called on Client B alone, recommended that he accept the offer which was at less than the listed price, and Client B agreed. The contract was signed and the sale was made.

These facts were detailed in a complaint by REALTOR^® A to the Board of REALTORS^® charging REALTOR^® C with unethical conduct in violation of Article 16, having made his second contact with the client without his, REALTOR^® A's, consent.

At the subsequent hearing, REALTOR^® C defended his actions on the basis that since he had been invited to cooperate with REALTOR^® A, and particularly since REALTOR^® A had invited him to be present when his offer was presented to the seller, REALTOR^® C had assumed that he had REALTOR^® A's consent for subsequent direct contacts with Client B. He stated further that he had a good reason for going alone because in his first visit to the client, REALTOR^® A had undertaken to present his, REALTOR^® C's, offer without fully understanding it and had made an inept presentation. Questioning by members of the Hearing Panel revealed that there had been some important considerations that REALTOR^® A had not understood or explained to the client.

Based on your understanding of the Code of Ethics Article 16, what do you think the hearing panel concluded? Show Answer