Adams ex rel. National Life & Accident Insurance Co. v. Swift

500 S.W.2d 437, 1973 Tenn. App. LEXIS 281
CourtCourt of Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedMarch 30, 1973
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 500 S.W.2d 437 (Adams ex rel. National Life & Accident Insurance Co. v. Swift) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Adams ex rel. National Life & Accident Insurance Co. v. Swift, 500 S.W.2d 437, 1973 Tenn. App. LEXIS 281 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1973).

Opinion

OPINION

PURYEAR, Judge.

The sole question involved on this appeal is whether or not the complainant properly exercised an option to purchase from defendants a certain lot or parcel of land situated in the Third Civil District of Davidson County, Tennessee, which the defendants had granted complainant an option to purchase.

The suit is for specific performance and the trial Court, Honorable Ned Lentz, Chancellor, determined that the complainant had not properly exercised said option to purchase and dismissed the suit, from which decree of dismissal the complainant has appealed and filed a single assignment of error as follows:

“1. The Court erred in holding (Tr., p. 22), that complainant’s letter of January 15, 1970 (Tr., p. 6, and Exhibit to Stipulation, R., p. 9) did not constitute an exercise of complainant’s option to purchase defendants’ land, which option could be exercised any time prior to January 20, 1972 (Tr., p. 5, and Exhibits to Stipulation, R., p. 9).”

The facts of the case, which were stipulated, are as follows:

On September 20, 1969, complainant, acting for and on behalf of the National Life and Accident Insurance Company, secured from defendants an option to purchase said land, the relevant portions of the option contract being as follows:

“Said option to purchase may be exercised by said second party at any time prior to January 20, 1970 or by his assigns, upon terms, as follows: The purchase or option price is $15,100.00 payable, as follows:
CASH (Any indebtedness against property to be deducted from proceeds when transaction is closed.) Second Party reserves the privilege of going upon the property for the purpose of survey, engineering and etc.
Mid-South Realty Company to receive a 6% sales commission out of the proceeds of sale when transaction is closed.”

[439]*439The amount paid for such option was $500.00 cash and the contract provided that if said option was exercised, this amount would be applied or credited on the purchase price, otherwise it would belong to optionors.

The option contract also contains the following provision:

“First party has 90 days in which to vacate property after transaction is closed January 20, 1970, at no cost. Rental will be $50.00 per month, thereafter, until notified by Second Party.”

On January 15, 1970, complainant wrote and sent to defendants the following letter:

“Mr. & Mrs. Louie S. Swift 2201 Riverview Drive Donelson, Tennessee 37214
Dear Mr. & Mrs. Swift:
Pursuant to the terms and conditions of an option agreement dated September 20, 1969, the undersigned hereby gives notice that he desires to exercise the option to purchase the property as therein set out.
At the present time the deed and title has been ordered and we are prepared to close this transaction within the next few days.
We will be in touch with you to set a convenient date with you and your agent, for closing.
Sincerely,
/s/ Floyd H. Adams Floyd H. Adams, Trustee FHA: mb.”

It is not denied by defendants that they received this letter prior to January 20, 1970.

On January 16, 1970, one Eldon Oakes, an employee of Mid-South Realty Company, called the defendants by telephone and in reply to this telephone call, Mrs. Swift delivered to Mr. Oakes the old title policy on said land.

The purchase price of $15,100.00 less $500.00 paid for the option contract, was not paid or tendered to the defendants on January 20, 1970, or any time prior thereto. No part of this purchase price, with the exception of $500.00 that was paid for the option, has ever been tendered to the defendants.

On January 28, 1970, complainant wrote the following letter to the defendants:

“Mr. & Mrs. Louie S. Swift 2201 Riverview Drive Donelson, Tennessee 37314
Dear Mr. & Mrs. Swift:
We have made arrangements for closing, on the sale of your property, at Guaranty Title Co., corner of 3rd and Union St., on Monday February 2, 1970 at 2:30 P.M.
Both of you will need to be present for this closing, and we shall look forward to seeing you at this time.
Sincerely,
/s/ Floyd H. Adams Floyd H. Adams, Trustee.”

On January 29, 1970, counsel for the defendants wrote the following letter to Mid-South Realty Company:

“Mid-South Realty Company 410 Union Street Nashville, Tennessee 37219 Attention: Mr. Floyd H. Adams, Trustee
Mr. Eldon Oaks
Gentlemen:
We represent Mr. and Mrs. Louis S. Swift of 2201 Riverview Drive in Donel-son, Tennessee, with whom you had an option agreement for the sale of certain realty from September 20, 1969 to January 20, 1970.
This letter is to advise you that the said option agreement was not properly exercised within the permissible period in ac[440]*440cordance with the terms thereof, and, therefore, pursuant to the applicable Tennessee law, the said option agreement has terminated. You are hereby notified that Mr. and Mrs. Swift consider said agreement null and void and request you return their old title policy at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
BAILEY, EWING, DALE & CONNER BY: /s/ Robert L. Echols
ROBERT L. ECHOLS.”

The foregoing facts being undisputed, we are of the opinion that the Chancellor correctly concluded that the complainant did not comply with the expressed terms of the option contract because the purchase price was not paid or tendered to defendants on or prior to the 20th day of January, 1970, upon which date the option expired.

The contract does not provide that the option may be exercised simply by giving of notice and it plainly means that, in order for same to be exercised, it was necessary for complainant to pay or tender to the defendants the balance of said purchase price, which would have been $14,600.00, on or before January 20, 1970.

Moreover, the language of the option plainly shows that the transaction was to have been closed not later than January 20, 1970, and it is not stipulated that the defendants granted any extension of time beyond that date.

In Ray v. Thomas (1949), 191 Tenn. 195, 232 S.W.2d 32, the Supreme Court held that the acceptance of an offer must be exactly and precisely in accord with the terms of the offer.

In the unreported opinion of this Court in Goodman v. Bohannon (filed at Nashville on January 8, 1971), it is said that:

“The failure to tender performance within thirty days as required by the agreement was fatal to any rights of complainant.
The provisions of an offer as to time, place, and manner of acceptance must be complied with.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
500 S.W.2d 437, 1973 Tenn. App. LEXIS 281, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/adams-ex-rel-national-life-accident-insurance-co-v-swift-tennctapp-1973.