Kelley v. Olson

136 N.W.2d 621, 272 Minn. 134, 1965 Minn. LEXIS 644
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedAugust 20, 1965
DocketNo. 39,355
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 136 N.W.2d 621 (Kelley v. Olson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kelley v. Olson, 136 N.W.2d 621, 272 Minn. 134, 1965 Minn. LEXIS 644 (Mich. 1965).

Opinion

Otis, Justice.

The plaintiffs Kelley are property owners who have recovered damages in the sum of $7,200 against their real estate agents and a bonding company in an action arising out of the agents’ refusal to deliver a deed executed by third parties. The defendants have appealed from the judgment.

We have considered the plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss the appeal and [136]*136find it to be without merit. Judgment was initially entered on October 18, 1963, and not on September 24, 1963, as plaintiffs assert. The appeal taken on December 31, 1963, was therefore timely.

The real estate in question is located in the village of Mound on Lake Minnetonka. A portion of the premises was rented to tenants; part was used as the plaintiffs’ residence; and the remainder was operated as a tavern. Early in 1960 the plaintiffs became delinquent in their obligations and undertook to sell the property. To that end they retained the defendants Olson, doing business as A. Odden & Co., under a listing contract which called for a sale price of $23,500. Defendants secured an offer from Mr. and Mrs. Idor Lawson, to whom Mrs. Olson was related, for $18,500. The offer was rejected by plaintiffs but was followed by a second proposal, which they accepted. Pertinent portions of the contract are as follows:

“Purchase Agreement
“Minneapolis, Minn., March 24, 1960
“Reqeived of Idor E. Lawson & Erma J. Lawson, husband and wife the sum of Forty Four Hundred & no/100 ($4400.00) Dollars Equity in 132 Circle A. Drive, Wayzata, Minn, as earnest money and in part payment for the purchase of property at (Seton) Mound, Minn, on lakeshore, known as Kelley’s Tavern (Wm. F. Kelley & Elmyra Kelley, husband and wife) situated in the County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota, and legally described as follows, to-wit: * * *
* * * * *

all of which property the undersigned, as agent for the owner, has this day sold to the buyer for the sum of Twenty One Thousand One Hundred Sixty One & 16/100 ($21,161.16) Dollars, which the buyer agrees to pay in the following manner:

% % sjc %
“The delivery of all papers and monies shall be made at the office of A. Odden & Co. Lake Mtka Office.”

April 7, 1960, was fixed as the closing date. However, as that time approached, efforts to secure a beer license for the Lawsons proved unavailing and ultimately their application was denied by the village coun[137]*137cil. Consequently, the defendants refused to deliver to the plaintiffs the deed and other papers necessary to vest them with title to the Lawson property which constituted the earnest money in the March 24 contract. Meanwhile, in anticipation of the conveyance, the Kelleys had terminated their leases and discontinued their tavern business.

On July 22, 1960, the tavern was completely destroyed by fire, and the Kelleys received $15,000 in insurance for the loss of their building and fixtures. They subsequently sold the lot for the sum of $4,200 and paid the balance which they owed on their contract for deed at a discount from $14,192 to $10,150.

This action was brought against the Olsons, their partnership and corporation, against their bonding company, and Mr. and Mrs. Lawson. It was dismissed with prejudice as to Fred Olson individually and as to the Lawsons and the Odden corporation. No cross appeal or other review has been sought by plaintiffs.

In considering this matter we are mindful of the scope of review where appeal is taken from a judgment and not from an order denying a new trial. Nevertheless, we believe the interests of justice require that there be a new trial under Minn. St. 605.05.

The complaint seeks damages based on fraud. It alleges, among other things, the following:

“That the said defendants, except the General Insurance Company of America, wilfully and maliciously entered into a conspiracy to defraud the plaintiffs and in the furtherance thereof made certain false and fraudulent misrepresentations upon which plaintiffs relied and which they believed to be true as the result of which the plaintiffs were prevailed upon and induced to sign a purchase agreement on or about March 24, 1960, to sell the said premises for the sum of $21,161.16, amounting to $2,338.24 reduction from the original asking price therefor.
H* $ H* H*
“That on or about April 7, 1960, defendants Idor E. Lawson and Erma J. Lawson executed and delivered to the defendant A. Odden & Co. at its Lake Minnetonka office a warranty deed to the said Circle A Drive property in the names of plaintiffs in accordance with the said [138]*138agreement and in performance thereof; that thereafter plaintiffs demanded from defendants delivery of the said warranty deed and possession of the said premises and that said demands have been refused, the last demand therefor being made on July 8th, 1960, and that plaintiffs have on many occasions demanded that said defendants and purchasers perform their part of said agreement by delivering the warranty deed thereto and surrendering possession thereof but that they have at all times wilfully, maliciously and unlawfully refused to do so.
“That by reason of the wilful, malicious and unlawful conduct of the defendants as hereinabove set forth, and the wrongful breach of the said agreement the plaintiffs have sustained general and special damages herein amounting to at least $15,000.00.”

There was testimony that subsequent to the execution of the purchase agreement Mrs. Olson and the Lawsons, without the knowledge of the Kelleys, undertook to increase the existing mortgage on the Lawson homestead from $6,900 to $8,500. However, this transaction was never consummated. The Kelleys also testified that they signed the purchase money agreement on the false representation by the Olsons’ agent that the consideration to them was equivalent to the $23,500 specified in their listing agreement rather than the $21,161.16 recited in the contract itself.

While we do not have the plaintiffs’ closing argument in the record, it seems to have been their contention that the fraud giving rise to their cause of action for damages consisted of a failure to disclose the relationship between the Lawsons and Mrs. Olson; a misrepresentation of the consideration flowing to them under the purchase agreement; and the abortive attempt to increase the mortgage on the Lawson property which would have diminished the equity the Kelleys were to receive. In view of the fact that title was not transferred and the contract never performed, it is not clear how this alleged fraud can give rise to an action for damages. Plaintiffs inconsistently seek to enforce the very contract they claim was fraudulently induced. In any event, the court ignored plaintiffs’ theory of the litigation and charged the jury that liability, if any, was predicated on a breach of contract. The court in his charge stated, among other things:

[139]

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Bluebook (online)
136 N.W.2d 621, 272 Minn. 134, 1965 Minn. LEXIS 644, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kelley-v-olson-minn-1965.