Sala v. Hay
| Decision Date | 13 June 1966 |
| Docket Number | No. 22006,22006 |
| Citation | 160 Colo. 169,415 P.2d 330 |
| Parties | D. H. SALA doing business as D. H. Sala Realty Co., Plaintiff in Error, v. Marjorie C. HAY, formerly Marjorie C. Fensterman, Defendant in Error. |
| Court | Colorado Supreme Court |
Wagner & Wyers, Denver, for plaintiff in error.
No appearance for defendant in error.
Plaintiff in error, hereinafter called Sala, brought suit against defendant in error, hereinafter called Hay, to recover the sum of $6,000 which was the amount due on an unpaid check and promissory note given by Hay as consideration for an option to purchase real estate which Hay did not exercise. The option agreement contained the usual provision that in the event of failure of Hay to exercise the option the $6,000 should be retained as liquidated damages. A trial was had to a jury. At the close of Sala's case in chief the trial court dismissed the action, and entered judgment for the defendant. Sala seeks reversal of this judgment.
The evidence in the record shows that on December 20, 1963, Hay and her husband signed a receipt and option agreement to purchase a motel which agreement provided for an earnest money deposit of $6,000. Hay gave a check for $6,000 as the deposit. The contract also contained a provision that it was contingent 'upon purchaser's obtaining additional funds of approximately $5,000.' (Emphasis added.)
The evidence for the plaintiff further disclosed that Sala was asked to hold the $6,000 check. Hay and her husband then gave a promissory note for $6,000 payable January 6, 1964, as the deposit called for in the receipt and option agreement. On January 4, 1964, Hay's husband died, and thereafter she refused to go ahead with the transaction. On cross-examination during plaintiff's case in chief, Hay stated the reason she did not go ahead was that she could not obtain the $5,000. Sala testified that Hay agreed orally that a $5,000 loan at 1% Per month for three years would be satisfactory to her and that he, Sala, furnished a letter of commitment for a $5,000 loan on those terms. Sala also testified that the reasons Hay gave him for not exercising the option were that her husband had died, her health was not good, and that her daughters' and attorney's advice was that she should not exercise her option. Upon this state of the record, the trial court made a finding of fact that Hay's reason for refusing to go through with the contract was her inability to obtain the loan. It further found that she was not obligated to take the loan offered by Sala, and that she had the sole right to determine 'the...
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Republic Nat. Life Ins. Co. v. Red Lion Homes, Inc., 80-1738
...Rather, this provision imposed a duty on Republic to use reasonable efforts to secure the necessary approvals. See Sala v. Hay, 160 Colo. 169, 415 P.2d 330, 332 (1966) (when contract is contingent on obtaining additional financing, purchaser must make reasonable efforts to secure it); Soren......
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Sorenson v. Connelly
...We must reject his contention that the contract never became binding because the contingency never occurred. The case of Sala v. Hay, 160 Colo. 169, 415 P.2d 330, stands for the proposition that such provisions imply a promise that the purchaser will make reasonable efforts to secure the lo......
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Nix v. Clary
...be paid contains the implied promise of the purchaser to make reasonable efforts toward fulfilling its requirements. See Sala v. Hay, 160 Colo. 169, 415 P.2d 330 (1966); Sorenson v. Connelly, 36 Colo.App. 168, 536 P.2d 328 (1975). And, in the event the vendor fails to perform under the cont......
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