Tennessee Real Estate Commission fines broker Vincent Nutt $2,000 after de novo hearing

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Real Estate Commission on June 12 assessed civil penalties and ordered education after a de novo hearing on a complaint against Nashville broker Vincent E. Nutt.

The commission voted to assess a $1,000 civil penalty for each of two proved violations — failing to respond to a complaint within 10 days and failing to “provide services to all parties with honesty and good faith” — for a total civil penalty of $2,000, and directed Nutt to complete a 30-hour TRACE continuing-education course by the end of 2025. The commission also voted to assess costs of the proceeding.

Why it matters: The case illustrates how the Tennessee Real Estate Commission enforces basic duties for licensees — timely responses to complaints and duties of honesty and fair dealing — and the penalties the commission will impose when it finds violations. It also shows how effort to resolve procedural discovery disputes and jurisdictional confusion (in this case involving the Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Affairs) plays out before an administrative judge and then the commission.

What the commission found and ordered - The hearing, held at the Davy Crockett Tower in Nashville and presided over by Administrative Judge Alex Reager, was a de novo review of allegations the Department of Commerce and Insurance had presented to the commission. - Commissioners voted unanimously to impose a $1,000 civil penalty for each of two findings (total $2,000), require Nutt to complete the TRACE 30‑hour course by Dec. 31, 2025, and assess the costs of bringing the action. The motion was recorded and carried 6–0 (one commissioner had left earlier in the day).

Case background and procedural rulings - The complaint originated with the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General, Division of Consumer Affairs, and was forwarded to the Department of Commerce and Insurance and the Tennessee Real Estate Commission. Denise Baker, executive director of the Tennessee Real Estate Commission, testified that the AG’s office referred the complaint because it was within TREC’s jurisdiction:…