Moore v. Allen
| Decision Date | 19 November 1909 |
| Docket Number | 16,370 - (141) |
| Citation | 123 N.W. 292,109 Minn. 139 |
| Parties | MORRIS E. MOORE v. JOHN G. ALLEN and Another |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
Action in the district court for Hennepin county to determine adverse claims to four vacant lots in block 4 of Island Park addition to Minneapolis. In their answer defendants alleged that John G. Allen, as assignee of the contract mentioned in the opinion, claimed title and an interest in the lots described in the complaint; that said contract was in full force, had never been canceled and was a lien upon said lots that said contract had been fulfilled by said Allen and the parties thereto, but the lots described in the complaint had never been conveyed pursuant to the contract; that plaintiff and his assignors had actual notice of said contract and of its assignments and set up that Allen and his assignor had paid taxes upon said lots and a part of the purchase price. The case was tried before Holt, J., who made findings of fact and as conclusion of law found that the contract was a valid and subsisting contract and that defendants were entitled to judgment for the specific performance thereof. From the judgment entered pursuant to the findings, plaintiff appealed. Reversed.
Option for Sale of Real Property.
The contract involved in this action considered, and it is held that it was an option for the sale of real estate, not an executory contract of purchase, and that it expired by limitation five years from the date of its execution.
Option for Sale of Real Property -- No Extension of Time.
It appears conclusively from the findings of the court that the contract was not extended beyond the five-year period, by waiver, part performance, or otherwise.
John A Larimore and Charles J. Tryon, for appellant.
Jay W. Crane, for respondents.
Harlan P. Roberts filed a brief by consent.
In May, 1901, William H. Anderson, being the owner of certain real estate in the city of Minneapolis, entered into a written contract with Wm. S. Beard and Henry B. Beard, containing the following provisions:
"Witnesseth, that said first party agrees to release and convey by quitclaim deed, without covenants, to second parties, or to any person designated by them, or either of them, within three (3) years from and after the date hereof, with the right to said second parties to demand an extension of said term of two years' additional time, if they should require and so elect and demand, which additional time, if required and demanded, said first party agrees to extend and grant, and thereby make said term five years from and after the date hereof, for five hundred dollars for each and every lot, all his interest in and to the following described lands, real estate, and lots situated in said county of Hennepin and state of Minnesota," to wit: Certain lots in blocks 2, 4, and 5, Island Park addition, $500 each; certain lots, $400 each; and certain lots, $200 each. The second parties agreed to assume and to pay, as the same became due and payable, all taxes and assessments assessed or levied upon the premises for the year 1901, and all subsequent years during the life of the contract, and interest at the rate of five per cent. per annum from the date of the contract to the date of any conveyance which might be executed by the first party under the terms of the contract.
The following is the provision with respect to building houses: "And it is agreed by said first party that said second parties shall have the right to build a house on each of the following described lots, to wit: Lots 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 23, 24, 25, 26, 30, and 31, in block 3; and said second parties agree to build not less than five such houses, and to commence to build the same within thirty days from the date of this contract, one each on as many of said several lots, each of which five houses so built, and all houses built on any of said lots, shall cost not less than $1,500 at prices for labor and materials at fair and reasonable values; and said second parties agree to have at least said five houses completed on or before four months from and after the date of this contract, ready and suitable for occupancy, in good order, and fully constructed in every particular, and they further agree to keep all costs of labor and materials fully paid as the work thereon, or materials furnished therefor, or on any such houses, progresses, and to keep and maintain such work so that every of said lots and property affected thereby shall be free from judgment, attachment, and liens of any kind or sort whatsoever."
There was a further provision that, whenever a house and lot were sold by the second parties, then the first party agreed to receive a second mortgage thereon of $200 to secure the remaining purchase price; the second mortgage however, to mature within two years from the date thereof. The first party also agreed to receive, in payment, a first mortgage upon any lot, to be executed by any purchaser thereof when the same should be sold by said second parties. It was agreed by the second parties that if they should fail or neglect, for any cause, to commence construction of the houses agreed to be commenced, or should fail to complete the construction thereof within the time, or neglect or fail to pay the taxes and assessments, or to maintain and keep all the property free from judgments, attachments, and liens, as provided in the contract, then the first party, or his attorney, should have the right, at his election, after twenty days' notice in writing to that effect, to cancel and terminate the contract, and all rights of the second party thereunder, time being of the essence of the contract. "And it is further expressly understood and agreed that said second parties have no estate, right, title, or interest in or to said lands, or any of them, in this contract described, beyond the right to build and construct houses on...
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