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Lonergan v. Scolnick
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Lonergan v. Scolnick | |
Court | California Court of Appeal |
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Citation | 276 P.2d 8 |
Date decided | November 23, 1954 |
Case Opinions | |
majority | written by Charles R. Barnard joined by Griffin, Mussell |
Facts
"Scolnick" = defendant = owner of a 40-acre plot of land = seller
"Lonergan" = potential buyer
Scolnick put an ad in the paper offering to sell a plot of land.
Lonergan responded to the ad, and a series of letters between the two regarding the property and the sale thereof took place. On April 8, the Defendant wrote to the Plaintiff and said that he better hurry and make an offer, because he was expecting to sell the land shortly.
Scolnick then sold the land to someone else on April 12.
A couple of days later, the Lonergan wrote to the Scolnick & offered to buy the land.Procedural History
Trial court found for the defendant.
Issues
Was there a contract?
Arguments
Plaintiff said that a contract already existed.
Holding
No contract had been formed.
Judgment
Affirmed.
Reasons
- Judging from the Defendant's language, he intended to sell the land to the first-comer. The ad in the paper was only a request for an offer.
- The lack of specificity in the ad and the "over subscription problem" (elevated interest for a newly available offering causes demand to outstrip supply).