bill against susan??

Question

bill paid 1000 to susan in exchange for susans written agreement that if bill wished to purchase her house she would sell it to him for 100,000 any time before april 1. prior to april 1, bill said he wanted more time to decide and susan agreed to extend her agreement until july 1. on may 18, susan sold the house to teepe who was ignorant of the previous agreements. bill brought suit against susan.

my initial thought would be susan would win.
who would win this case and why>???

Answer 1

Since Susan entered in to an agreement with Bill, Bill should win. The agreement allowed for him to purchase the home anytime until July 1st. She sold the home before that date therefore depriving him of the opportunity to purchase the home. Since he paid (gave consideration) she violated the contract.

Answer 2

Susan

Bill paid 1000 in consideration of his option contract with Susan. Susan agreed to hold the property until April 1. When the term expired, so did her duty to hold the property. Bill asked for an extension but Susan gave a verbal assent. Contracts for the sale of land are covered by the statute of frauds, meaning, they must be in writing (the L in the MY LEGS)

had this been an option contract for the sale of goods, 2-205 would apply. Because it is for land, Susan wins.

Answer 3

If Bill was smart enough to have Susan make the extension a written, notarized or witnessed, signed addendum to the initial contract -- Bill should not have a problem as the terms of the contract have lawfully changed, putting the new agreement in force. He could win the damages that make him whole - the initial sum, and perhaps other damages if he can prove they are the result of violation of the terms of the contract.