Johnson v. Phelan

• Decision Date: 25 January 2001
• Citation: 281 AD2d 394,721 N.Y.S.2d 378
• Parties: (A.D. 2 Dept. 2001) Todd Johnson, et al., respondents, v. Lawrence Phelan, et al., appellants. 2000-03365 Submitted -
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Page 378

721 N.Y.S.2d 378 (A.D. 2 Dept. 2001)

Todd Johnson, et al., respondents, v. Lawrence Phelan, et al., appellants.

2000-03365

SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, SECOND JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT

Submitted - January 25, 2001

March 5, 2001

Stern & Rindner, Goshen, N.Y. (Jane M. Bloom of counsel), for appellants.

Luke M. Charde, Jr., Warwick, N.Y., for respondents.

GLORIA GOLDSTEIN, J.P., ANITA R. FLORIO, DANIEL F. LUCIANO and HOWARD MILLER, JJ.

In an action for specific performance of a contract for the sale of real property, the defendants appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Orange County (Slobod, J.), dated March 16, 2000, which denied their motion for summary judgment dismissing the complaint and on their counterclaims, and granted the plaintiffs' cross motion for summary judgment on the complaint and, in effect, to dismiss the counterclaims.

ORDERED that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, the motion is granted, the cross motion is denied, the complaint is dismissed, the notice of pendency is vacated, and the matter is remitted to the Supreme Court, Orange County, for entry of an appropriate judgment.

The Supreme Court erred in concluding that the plaintiff purchasers were entitled to specific performance of the installment contract in this case. Before specific performance of a contract for the sale of real property may be granted, a plaintiff must demonstrate that it substantially performed its contractual obligations and that it is ready, willing, and able to satisfy those obligations not yet performed, regardless of any alleged anticipatory breach by the defendant (see, Bowen v Horgan, 259 N.Y. 267, 269; Petrelli Assocs. v Germano, 268 A.D.2d 513). It is undisputed that the purchasers defaulted in making the annual installment payments required under the contract. The purchasers' failure to do so constituted a material breach of the agreement precluding them from obtaining specific performance (see, Grace v Nappa, 46 N.Y.2d 560, 567; Hooker v Wooten, 237 A.D.2d 572). The purchasers also failed to demonstrate that they were ready, willing, and able to perform and had the funds necessary to purchase the property (see, Petrelli Assocs. v Germano, supra; Ober v Bey, 266 A.D.2d 441; Goller Place Corp. v Cacase, 251 A.D.2d 287). Accordingly, the defendants were entitled to summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

Under the circumstance of this case, the Supreme Court also erred in denying summary judgment to the defendants...