Klein v. Chatfield
| Decision Date | 26 February 1974 |
| Citation | 347 A.2d 58,166 Conn. 76 |
| Court | Connecticut Supreme Court |
| Parties | Barry KLEIN et al. v. Glen T. CHATFIELD et al. |
Bernard Green, Bridgeport, with whom was Eric M. Gross, Bridgeport, for appellants (plaintiffs).
Norris L. O'Neill, Hartford, for appellees (defendant Lloyd Albin and others).
Joseph F. Keefe, Hartford, for appellees (named defendant and others).
Before HOUSE, C.J., and SHAPIRO, LOISELLE, MacDONALD and BOGDANSKI, JJ.
This is an appeal from an action brought by the plaintiffs, Barry Klein and Morris Feinson, against the defendants, Glen T. Chatfield, Thurber R. Chatfield, Lloyd Albin and Jerome R. Shenker, seeking (1) a decree setting aside a land conveyance; (2) a decree compelling specific performance, and (3) injunctive relief. The plaintiffs alleged that the Chatfields breached a contract with them for the sale of 103.20 acres of land located on Gorham Road in Kent, Connecticut, when they sold that land to the defendants, Albin and Shenker. The trial court concluded that no contract was ever entered into by the Chatfields and the plaintiffs. From the judgment rendered for the defendants the plaintiffs have appealed.
The finding as corrected 1 can be summarized as follow: Prior to March 1967, the Chatfields owned 103.20 acres of land in town of Kent, Connecticut. The first mortgagee was threatening foreclosure and other creditors were also threatening action against the Chatfields' property. The plaintiff Feinson, an experienced real estate developer, became interested in purchasing the property. On March 13, 1967, a meeting took place at which Thurber Chatfield, Feinson, Klein and Arthur Bertine, a real estate broker, were present. At the conclusion of this meeting it was orally agreed that (a) a written contract of sale of the Chatfields' land to Feinson and Klein for $35,000 would be drawn up by the Chatfields' attorney; (b) a deposit of $3000 would be paid to the Chatfields at the time of the execution of the contract, and (c) the balance would be paid in cash at the closing, to take place on April 3, 1967. There was no offer of a deposit on the day of that meeting. On March 14, 1967, the Chatfields executed a written contract and mailed it to the plaintiffs' attorney. The Chatfields wished to close the deal quickly in order to pay off their creditors. On March 20, 1967, the plaintiffs signed the written contract and left it and a deposit check for $3000 with their attorney. On March 22, 1967, while the contract and check were still in his possession, the Chatfields delivered to him a written withdrawal of the offer of sale.
The trial court concluded that the document signed by the Chatfields was an offer; that an essential requirement of that offer was the delivery to them by the plaintiffs of an executed contract and a deposit of $3000; that until both steps were taken by the plaintiffs, the parties were free to disengage themselves from whatever tentative commitments they may have made.
The plaintiff contend that the parties did enter into a contract on March 13; that this contract, though not in writing, was nonetheless valid since a writing was contemplated. The plaintiffs further argue that the court erred in finding that '(t)he parties always intended that a deposit be given to Chatfields to bind any agreement,' claiming that this finding and the conclusions that follow have no support in the evidence or in law.
A finding of a material fact may be attacked as not supported by the evidence. The validity of such a claim is tested by the evidence printed in the appendices to the briefs. Practice Book § 718; State v. Vars, 154 Conn. 255, 258, 224 A.2d 744. The appendices disclose the following evidence: Thurber Chatfield testified that he met with Klein, Feinson and Bertine, and asked for $35,000 for the property, but would have sold it for $28,000 at the meeting because there was a mortgage foreclosure proceeding. His lawyer, he testified, wanted the plaintiffs to give a check at the meeting, but the plaintiff Klein said that he did not have the money and so no agreement was reached because nobody came up with any money. He testified that later he had his lawyer draw up a written contract in duplicate, and that he and his brother signed both copies, but that they did not receive the $3000 deposit mentioned therein. Glen Chatfield testified that since no deposit was ever paid there was no contract. Lloyd Albin testified that he was informed by Chatfield that the Chatfields needed money and that there were negotiations but that there was 'no deal, yet.' Bertine testified that he did not remember all the details of the negotiations, and that this transaction 'was in the embryo stage.' He also testified that he did not keep a diary of particular transactions until they materialized and that the made no record of the negotiations. Feinson testified that all parties wanted a signed contract, and that one of the conditions that was agreed upon at the meeting of March 13, 1967...
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