Hoffman v. Halter

417 N.W.2d 747, 1988 Minn. App. LEXIS 12, 1988 WL 1882
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedJanuary 19, 1988
DocketC6-87-1094
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 417 N.W.2d 747 (Hoffman v. Halter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hoffman v. Halter, 417 N.W.2d 747, 1988 Minn. App. LEXIS 12, 1988 WL 1882 (Mich. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

OPINION

WOZNIAK, Chief Judge.

This is an appeal from an action initiated for injunctive relief following the termination of a contract for deed. Appellants Alfred and Donna Hoffman claim the con *749 tract could not be terminated following their failure to cure a default within the 60-day time limitation under Minn.Stat. § 559.21, subd. 2a (1986) because the notice of cancellation served upon them did not follow the proper statutory form. We affirm.

FACTS

In 1958 appellants Alfred and Donna Hoffman purchased and improved certain property in Blue Earth County, Minnesota. In April 1986, after experiencing financial difficulties, the Hoffmans sold the property to Donna Hoffman’s sister and brother-in-law, Maurice and Marilyn Sween. The Hoffmans then entered into a contract for deed to repurchase the subject property from the Sweens. The purpose behind the sale and subsequent execution of the contract for deed was to assist the Hoffmans during financial difficulties and to give them time to find another buyer for the property.

Pursuant to the contract for deed, the Hoffmans were responsible for all property taxes, as well as monthly payments to the Sweens. Shortly after execution of the contract for deed, the Hoffmans filed for bankruptcy under chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. They declared the property exempt as a homestead.

On December 3, 1986, the Hoffmans entered into a purchase agreement with a third party to sell the property. At that time, they were in default on the payments due under the contract for deed. As a result, on December 12, 1986, Donna Hoffman was personally served with a notice of cancellation of the contract for deed, and A1 Hoffman was served on December 15, 1986.

The notice of cancellation was drafted and signed by the Sweens’s attorney, and in pertinent part provided that the contract for deed would terminate 60 days after service of the notice unless the Hoffmans paid the amount stated in the notice, complied with the conditions in default, made all payments due and owing, paid costs of service, paid attorney fees, and paid 2% of the amount in default at the time of service. The notice also informed the Hoff-mans of their right to obtain a court order suspending or terminating the contract. The notice stated that a failure to obtain the proper order would result in termination of the contract at the end of the time period and loss of funds previously paid.

The notice of cancellation was not in exact compliance with Minn.Stat. § 559.21, subd. 3 (1986). The monthly payments owed and the required payment of 2% of the amount in default were listed in lower case type, while the statute requires large capital letters.

On January 9, 1987, respondent Ted Halter purchased the Sweens’s interest in the contract for deed, subject to the Hoff-mans’s rights as vendees and the previously served notice of cancellation. On January 12, 1987, Halter also was appointed as agent for the Hoffmans’s bankruptcy estate to recover property not scheduled on the bankruptcy petition.

On February 14, 1987, the Hoffmans attempted to cure the default by delivering a check to the attorney designated by the notice of cancellation to receive their payment. The attempted cure was 64 days after the December 12 service of the notice of cancellation, and 61 days after the December 15 service. The attorney had informed the Hoffmans earlier on the day of the attempted cure that the 60-day deadline had passed. When the check was delivered later that evening, the attorney again reiterated that the attempted cure was overdue, but took the check and placed it in his client trust account. Further, he expressly stated in his written receipt that the check was not taken as a reinstatement, and that he had no authority to accept a late payment as a reinstatement of the contract.

The Hoffmans subsequently initiated this action alleging improper cancellation of the contract for deed and seeking injunctive *750 relief. They claimed the notice of cancellation was in improper form, confusion over whether service was proper, and confusion as to the person to whom payments were to be tendered because the Sweens sold their interest to Halter.

The trial court found the Hoffmans’s attempted cure of the default was ineffective because it took place after passage of the 60-day period. Although the notice of cancellation was not in strict conformity with Minn.Stat. § 559.21, subd. 3, the trial court found substantial compliance. The court further ruled the Hoffmans were not prejudiced by the discrepancies because they were aware of the 60-day time period and because the notice listed the 60-day deadline in the proper form.

ISSUE

Did the trial court err in finding the notice of cancellation in substantial compliance with Minn.Stat. § 559.21, subd. 3, and appellants’ attempted cure ineffective?

ANALYSIS

The record indicates the Hoffmans did not make a motion for a new trial, and this appeal is from the judgment entered pursuant to the trial court’s findings and conclusions. When there has been no motion for a new trial, the scope of review is limited to determining whether the evidence sustains the findings of fact and whether such findings sustain the conclusions of law and judgment. Gruenhagen v. Larson, 310 Minn. 454, 458, 246 N.W.2d 565, 569 (1976).

The purpose of the statutory cancellation procedure is to give vendees notice of an impending cancellation and a reasonable time to redeem their interest. Conley v. Downing, 321 N.W.2d 36, 39 (Minn.1982). The statute should be construed strictly to avoid unnecessary forfeitures. Id. at 39-40.

Absent a sufficient showing of prejudice, the Minnesota Supreme Court has determined some discrepancies in a notice of cancellation will not render it fatally defective. Id. at 40. In Karim v. Werner, 333 N.W.2d 877 (Minn.1983), a notice of cancellation misstating the amount of attorney fees was found not to be fatally defective. The court held:

We decline to hold that such misstatements render cancellation notices fatally defective. Such a misstatement does not compare with a misstatement of the statutory redemption period, which is an error of different magnitude, and renders a cancellation notice ineffective.

Id. at 879.

In addition, the failure to state the amount due under the contract is not fatal to a notice of cancellation because the vendee is presumed to know the contract terms and is not prejudiced if the amount is not stated or is stated incorrectly. Conley, 321 N.W.2d at 39.

The Hoffmans claim the notice of cancellation is rendered fatal by the failure to list the delinquent real estate taxes and the required payment of 2% of the amount in default in large capital letters as set out in Minn.Stat. § 559.21, subd. 3.

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Bluebook (online)
417 N.W.2d 747, 1988 Minn. App. LEXIS 12, 1988 WL 1882, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hoffman-v-halter-minnctapp-1988.