Maloney v. Aschaffenburg

78 So. 761, 143 La. 509, 1917 La. LEXIS 1757
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedJune 30, 1917
DocketNo. 20864
StatusPublished
Cited by35 cases

This text of 78 So. 761 (Maloney v. Aschaffenburg) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Maloney v. Aschaffenburg, 78 So. 761, 143 La. 509, 1917 La. LEXIS 1757 (La. 1917).

Opinions

O’NIELL, J.

This is an action for possession of a certain promissory note for $3,700, signed by Albert Aschaffenburg and Solomon AVol'ff, and $500 in cash, which note and cash were deposited by Aschaffenburg with the plaintiffs’ agents, Willard & Eiseman, under an agreement of Aschaffenburg to buy the plaintiffs’ property.

Willard & Eiseman (of whom Meyer Eis& man is the successor in business) were the real estate agents or brokers with whom the" plaintiffs had listed their property for sale.

On the 24th of June, 1912, Aschaffenburg signed and submitted a written proposition, addressed to Willard & Eiseman, offering to buy the property of the plaintiffs, as follows, viz.:

“I hereby offer forty-two thousand dollars ($42,000) cash for the building No. 131 Dauphine street, described as follows. * ’;s *
“I agree to pay taxes, both city and state, for the year 1912, and for the act of sale before Jos. Lautenscblaeger, notary public.
“This proposition is open for your acceptance until Friday, June 28th, at which time, if accepted, I will deposit in your hands 10 per cent, of the purchase price, and agree to pass the act within 00 days from notice of your acceptance.”

The offer was accepted by the plaintiffs; and on the 28th day of June, 1912, Willard & Eiseman gave Aschaffenburg written notice of the acceptance, as follows, viz.:

“Your offer to buy the property No. 131 Dauphine street at forty-two thousand dollars ($42,000), plus taxes, city and state, for the year 1912, has been accepted.
“Kindly let us have your check for forty-two hundred dollars ($4,200), part of the purchase price, at which time we will issue our formal receipt.”

It appears that it was not then convenient for Aschaffenburg to put up the $4,200 in cash, and he, or his attorney, Solomon Wolff, who appears to have been personally interested with Aschaffenburg in the transaction, proposed to put up $500 in cash and a promissory note for $3,700, signed by them, in lieu of the cash deposit. The proposition was made to the plaintiffs’ agents or brokers, Willard & Eiseman, and was submitted by them to their principals, and ace'epted. Written authority was given to the agents or brokers, signed by the plaintiffs, the Maloney heirs, dated the 8th of July, 1912, to accept the deposit of $500 cash and the note for $3,700 in lieu of the cash deposit of $4,-200, as follows, viz.:

“In place of forty-two hundred dollars ($4,200) cash, which was to be deposited by the purchaser of the property No. 131 Dauphine street, we hereby authorize you to accept five hundred dollars in cash, and a note due August 8, 1912, for thirty-seven hundred dollars ($3,700), representing the balance of the 10 per cent, to bind the sale, which note is to be signed by Albert Aschaffenburg and Solomon Wolff.”

The $500 in cash, and the promissory note for $3,700, dated the 8th of July, 1912, signed by Albert Aschaffenburg and Solomon Wolff, made payable on the 8th of August, 1912, to the order of Willard & Eiseman, agents, were deposited with them on the 10th of Jhly, 1912; and they gave their receipt to Aschaffenburg and Wolff, of that date, viz. :

“Received from Albert Aschaffenburg and Solomon AVolff forty-two hundred dollars ($4,-200), represented as follows: (1) Five hundred dollars ($500.00) cash; (2) Thirty-seven hundred dollars ($3,700.00), being a promissory note dated July 8, 1912, payable on August 8, 1912, to the order of Willard & Eiseman, agents, payable at their office No. 632 Gravier street, bearing upon its face the inscription as follows: [513]*513‘Being a part of the deposit of $4,200, which is 10 per cent, of the ,purchase price of the property No. 131 Dauphine street.’ Interest at 8 per cent, per annum from maturity. The whole, or forty-two hundred dollars ($4,200.00), being a 10 per cent, part of the purchase price, which is forty-two thousand dollars ($42,000.00) cash, of the property known as No. 131 Dauphine street. Ground measurements are 27' front on Dauphine street by 127' in depth, more or less. Purchaser to pay taxes, both city and state, for year 1912, and to pass the deed sixty (60) days from July 10, 1912, and pay for act of sale before Jos. Lautenschlaeger, N. P.”

The property No. 131 Dauphine street belonged to the succession of the plaintiffs’ parents, the deceased Dr. and Mrs. J. H. Maloney. Mr. Wolff, as attorney for Aschaffenburg (and apparently also on his own behalf), required or suggested that the plaintiffs, who were all of age, obtain a judgment from the civil district court recognizing them as the sole and only heirs at law of the deceased Dr. Maloney and his wife, and sending them into possession of the property. The judgment was obtained on the 30th of August, 1912. Four days later Mr. Wolff was notified there-, of in writing by Messrs. Willard & Eiseman with the request that he make prompt settlement of the note of $3,700, which was then past due.

In his reply to Messrs. Willard & Eiseman, of date the 6th of September, 1912, Mr. Wolff intimated quite plainly that he and Asehaffenburg would not be prepared to consummate the transaction within the remaining three days allowed by the agreement, and he made it plain that he and Aschaffenburg would like to get back their deposit and call the deal off. Ignoring or evading the demand for payment of the $3,700 note, he said:

“Since your Mr. Eiseman was in my office, together with Mr. Dreyfous, I have seen Mr. Aschaffenburg, and he takes precisely the same view of this matter as I do, namely, that we have made a certain contract with you, and that contract we are going to abide by, and I beg to repeat here what I havé tried to say personally, I will complete the examination of the title just as rapidly as I can, but just when that will be it is impossible for me to say.
“I am now, and have been for several months, very much occupied with matters requiring immediate attention, and the attention I have heretofore given the Maloney matter has been given only because I was anxious to wind up this matter.
_ “I now repeat that' I will finish the examination of the title just as soon as I can, but cannot say just when that will be, but if in the meantime, under the circumstances, you feel that you would prefer to cancel the contract, we hereby consent to your doing so, returning to -us the $500.00 deposited with you, and the note for $3,700.00 which we gave you.”

Either from a reading between the lines of that letter, or from something more that Mr. Wolff had said, Messrs. Willard & Eiseman felt assured that Mr. Aschaffenburg could not or would not carry out his agreement to buy the property within the remaining three days of the time he had allowed himself. The agents therefore wrote a very formal letter to each of the Maloney heirs, of date' the 7th of September, 1912, reviewing the negotiations with Mr. Aschaffenburg and his attorney, reminding the Maloney heirs that the time within which the sale was to . be made would expire on Monday, the 9th of September, and saying that they, the agents, had been advised by Mr. Wolff, 'as attorney for Aschaffenburg, that the title had not yet been examined, and that they, Aschaffenburg and Wolff, would not be in a position to accept the property within the time stipulated. The letter informed the Maloney heirs of Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
78 So. 761, 143 La. 509, 1917 La. LEXIS 1757, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maloney-v-aschaffenburg-la-1917.