ALBANY (AP) - New York's highest court says a real estate buyer's agent can represent only one bidder for a property, but that his or her agency can represent many competing bidders.

The unanimous Court of Appeals ruling comes in a lawsuit filed by a New Jersey man who bid for a lakefront property in Ulster County in 2004 that was subsequently sold to a couple represented by the co-owner of the real estate firm he used. Oleg Rivkin tried to raise his lowball bid when he belatedly learned of the other offer, for full price, which had been orally accepted.

Under New York's 1991 disclosure law, the court says individual buyer's agents may not represent multiple bidders for the same property without first obtaining client consent.