Puritan Homes, Inc. v. Abell

432 S.W.2d 632, 1968 Ky. LEXIS 346
CourtCourt of Appeals of Kentucky
DecidedMay 10, 1968
StatusPublished

This text of 432 S.W.2d 632 (Puritan Homes, Inc. v. Abell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Puritan Homes, Inc. v. Abell, 432 S.W.2d 632, 1968 Ky. LEXIS 346 (Ky. Ct. App. 1968).

Opinion

PALMORE, Judge.

Puritan Homes, Inc., brought this suit against William Emmett Abell and wife, Virginia Abell, for specific performance of a written contract by which the Abells had agreed to sell it their 250-acre farm in Old-ham County for $75,000. The trial court denied specific enforcement on the ground that the Abells’ execution of the contract had been inequitably induced. Puritan appeals. It is our opinion that the judgment was in error and that Puritan is entitled to specific performance.

The Abells were represented in the transaction by Jesse Dixon, an attorney and realtor who also is master commissioner of the Oldham Circuit Court. Dixon’s place of business is in LaGrange, county seat of Oldham County. Puritan was represented by its president and chief stockholder, H. M. Dunn, Jr., who is a real estate broker and is engaged in building and developing and in several other business activities, including cattle and show horses. Over the years prior to the events here in question both Dunn and Abell had done business with Dixon.

The contract was drawn by Dixon and signed by the parties on Saturday, March 23, 1966. A month earlier, on February 22, 1966, Abell had called Dixon on the telephone for the purpose of enlisting his services in selling the farm. On the next day, February 23, Dixon went out to the Abell home and the Abells signed a listing agreement giving Dixon the exclusive agency at a 5% commission to sell the property for $75,000 on terms of 25% cash and the balance payable over a period of seven years.

The contract ultimately signed by the parties called for a price of $75,000, payable 10% down, 19% on passage of title, $6,250 in one year, $6,000 in two years, $6,000 in three years, and the balance in seven annual installments of $5,000 each, all deferred payments bearing 6% interest payable annually.1

At some time during the month between February 23 and March 23 Dunn contacted Dixon and told him he was looking for a farm. Dixon showed him some 14 farms, including the Abell place. Dixon testified [634]*634also that he had shown the Abell place to other prospective purchasers. Two or three days before March 23 Dunn, having eliminated the other prospects, decided he would like to buy the Abell farm, so he and Dixon went out to see the Abells. Meanwhile, Abell had expressed to Dixon some reservations with regard to the listing,* indicating that he would like to sell on a “walk-out” basis (including all of the stock and equipment) for an additional $50,000.

When Dixon and Dunn arrived Abell was working in a field but presently joined them at the milking house. Dunn was not interested in the walk-out proposition, because he thought the price was too high. Then, in Abell’s words, “Jesse [Dixon] went on and gave me a sales talk. I’m hard of hearing and I was busy. I again mentioned to him and reminded him to hold up on that listing contract. He still kept on and I finally got a little upset. I told Jesse that I wasn’t signing anything, that I had to go milk and that I wasn’t signing anything, to go on down to the house and talk to my wife. I didn’t think she would sign the contract because it would take seven years to pay it out in. You might say, we are 65 years old and that’s getting pretty close to the end of time.” Continuing with Abell’s testimony:

Q — “What kind of sales talk did he give you?”
A — “He kept saying that I was getting a good price for my farm, that it would save me a lot of taxes and he just kept going over that, telling me about the tax saving and they never did say how much. That’s when I told him to go down to the house and talk to my wife. I really didn’t think she would sign the contract.”
Q — -“Did you also tell Mr. Dixon at that time that you wasn’t the money man in the family and that you didn’t have any head for figures and that Grannie [Mrs. Abell] was the money man and all you did was do the work and he should go down and talk to her?”
A — “I guess so. I don’t have any education.”
Q — “What happened next?”
A — “Dixon went down to the house.”
Q — “And then what happened?”
A — “He came back up there for me to sign the contract.”
Q — “The contract that I have just shown you?”
A — “Yes. He told me my wife had signed it. I didn’t think she had. He let me see, he showed it to me, and I went ahead and signed.”
Q — “Did you read it?”
A — “I’ve told you my reading is very poor. Jesse didn’t read it to me. I just told him to go to the house to talk to my wife.”
Q — “Your statement is that you didn’t read the contract?”
A — “No, I couldn’t read it.”
Q — “You can’t read, is that your statement ?”
A — “Very little.”
Q — “Did you talk to your wife before you signed this contract?”
A — “No, she was at the house and I was at the barn.”
Q — “Mr. Abell, did you have any discussion with Mr. Dixon about the terms of the financing on the purchase of the farm before you signed this contract?”
A — “No, sir.”
Q — “What was it that Mr. Dixon said to you hack up at the barn the second time?”
A — “He said that my wife had signed the contract and for me to sign. I said, ‘Let me see where she signed.’ He showed it to me and I signed it. From what I think Mr. Dunn said something to me about giving him a chance on bidding on building a house on the remaining 21 acres.”
[635]*635Q— “Had Mr. Dunn already signed the contract when you signed it?”
A— “Yes, I was the last one that signed it.”
Q— “Mr. Abell did you sign of your own free act and deed the sales contract and the listing contract?”
A— “Yes. I signed it.”
Q— “You meant to sign it at the time to sell the farm at the time you did, didn’t you?”
A— “I signed it to sell the farm but as I say, the contract was misrepresented to us.”
Q— “How?”
A— “It was supposed to be paid out in seven years. My wife figured it up and it amounted to ten years.”
Q— “Would you now be willing to complete the transfer of the farm to Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
432 S.W.2d 632, 1968 Ky. LEXIS 346, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/puritan-homes-inc-v-abell-kyctapp-1968.