Miller v. Slaght
Miller v. Slaght
Opinion of the Court
delivered the opinion of the court.
This suit was commenced in the court of a justice of the peace, and there are no written pleadings. The plaintiff,
The terms of the contract relied upon were exceedingly indefinite and uncertain, and the testimony in support of it is very vague and doubtful. According to defendants’ version of it, the lots to be conveyed were not specified to have been or to be in any particular town or locality, nor of any particular value, nor was any special number of lots required. According to plaintiff’s testimony, she was to receive two lots in Belleview, but what particular lots, or lots of what value, were not designated. Her version of it, however, seems to be based more upon her expectation growing out of casual conversation than from any special promise on the part of defendants to convey lots in that particular town. In the summer of 1894, during the vacation of the music school, there seems to have been some conversation between the parties in which plaintiff was asked by defendant if she was willing to take lots in Montclair if the lessons were continued. Her reply appears to have been as indefinite as everything else connected with this contract. It was, that it would be all right if she were given two desirable lots. Defendants admit
The finding of the county court was in favor of the plaintiff. Thereafter, upon overruling a motion for a new trial, the court said, “ I have come to the conclusion that the contract was so indefinite that there was no way to enforce it except by rendering a money judgment.” Even if it be conceded that the reason which the court gave for its judgment was erroneous, it does not follow that the judgment should be reversed. McDonald v. McLeod, 3 Colo. App. 344. There may be sufficient in the record to sustain the judgment, although the reasons given for it by the court are unsatisfactory. We do not say that the reason given by the court in this instance is unsatisfactory, but we do say that there is sufficient in this record to sustain this judgment upon other grounds. The judgment was proper, was sustained by the evidence, and will be affirmed.
Affirmed.
070rehearing
ON PETITION FOR REHEARING.
The opinion announced in this cause is not
Where the contract is to pay in real estate however, as claimed here, the identical piece of land not being specified nor even its location, nor its value, an entirely different proposition is presented, one to which it is apparent the application of the above-cited rule would be impossible and would not be necessary. Conceding that a demand would be required, it should of necessity be for some specific and definite piece of land, lot or number of lots. Who is to determine this in such a case?
Real estate varies greatly in value according to a variety of circumstances. One lot may be worth vastly more than another lot in the same town. It would be manifestly unfair that the creditor be permitted to say, You shall convey to me this lot or tract of land, and I will accept none other. And equally so would it be to allow the debtor to say, I will convey this and none other. Without violation of the terms of the contract, the creditor might refuse to accept a conveyance of that offered, and the debtor might decline to convey that demanded. If nothing could be accomplished by a demand, why its necessity?
But, say counsel, it was the duty of the creditor to make a selection of the lots desired and then demand a conveyance of them. Surely it cannot be contended that the burden of expense and labor was upon the plaintiff to investigate the public records and ascertain what lots were owned by defendants. If as is suggested the defendants gave to plaintiff a list of their lots and told her to select two in settlement of
We are clearly of opinion that where a contract is for payment by conveyance of real estate, before the rule can be invoked that there must first be a demand and refusal of conveyance in order to sustain an action to recover the value of the services rendered or the amount paid by the payee, the contract must be so specific and definite in its terms that it could be enforced by a suit for specific performance. This is not such a case.
Moreover, as we have stated, there was evidence of a sufficient demand, if one was necessary. Whatever may have been plaintiff’s language in requesting a settlement, as testified to by her, the defendants treated it as a demand for a conveyance by offering to convey to her lots in Montclair. Her failure to accept the offer was equivalent to her refusal.
The opinion may have been in error in saying that the lots in Montclair which defendants offered to convey were shown to have been incumbered, but this is immaterial in the view which we take of the vital issues in the case. The fact of their incumbrance or nonincumbrance is not essential to our conclusions.
The petition for a rehearing is denied.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.