TERRACES OF SUNSET PARK, LLC v. Chamberlin

929 N.E.2d 1161, 399 Ill. App. 3d 1090, 341 Ill. Dec. 82, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 892
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedApril 28, 2010
Docket2-09-0269
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 929 N.E.2d 1161 (TERRACES OF SUNSET PARK, LLC v. Chamberlin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
TERRACES OF SUNSET PARK, LLC v. Chamberlin, 929 N.E.2d 1161, 399 Ill. App. 3d 1090, 341 Ill. Dec. 82, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 892 (Ill. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinion

JUSTICE McLAREN

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiff, The Terraces of Sunset Park, LLC (The Terraces), appeals from the judgment of the trial court dismissing its second amended complaint. We affirm.

On September 8, 2006, The Terraces entered into an agreement with defendants, Thomas Chamberlin and Diane Dorigan, to purchase their property at 739 Elm Place in Highland Park for $1,750,000. According to the written agreement, the parties desired “to memorialize their basic agreement on the sale and purchase of the property to be supplemented by the preparation of additional documents to supplement this sale contract.” The Terraces was to pay $50,000 when the agreement was signed and $50,000 on May 1, 2007, as a down payment. If The Terraces failed to make the May 2007 installment, the initial $50,000 would be forfeited and the transaction would be null and void. Both installments, once paid, were to be “NONREFUNDABLE” and were to be deducted from the purchase price at closing. Closing was scheduled for August 1, 2007, “exclusively.” If The Terraces failed to close on that date, the down payment would be forfeited, and the transaction would be null and void.

The Terraces also provided a preprinted “Multi-Board Residential Real Estate Contract 4.0,” which Chamberlin and Dorigan accepted on September 12, 2006. The contract included the purchase price of $1,750,000 and the closing date of August 1, 2007. The balance of the purchase price, adjusted by prorations, was due at closing, by wire transfer, certified check, or cashiers check. However, The Terraces never signed this contract.

The Terraces made the scheduled payments totaling $100,000, but the sale did not close. On July 27, 2007, The Terraces notified Chamberlin and Dorigan that, as it had never signed the real estate contract, no contract existed. Therefore, The Terraces was entitled to a refund of “the earnest money deposit.” Alternatively, assuming that a valid contract existed, The Terraces declared the contract terminated because Chamberlin and Dorigan failed to furnish an “Illinois Residential Real Property Disclosure Report” as required by the Residential Real Property Disclosure Act (Act) (765 ILCS 77/1 et seq. (West 2006)).

On March 3, 2008, The Terraces filed a three-count complaint seeking declaratory judgment and money damages. On November 6, 2008, after various motions were filed and causes repleaded, The Terraces filed its second amended complaint. Count I sought a declaratory judgment that the September 8, 2006, agreement was not a valid and enforceable agreement and that The Terraces was entitled to a return of the $100,000 down payment. In count II, argued in the alternative, The Terraces alleged that Chamberlin and Dorigan violated the Act (765 ILCS 77/1 et seq. (West 2006)), thus allowing The Terraces to terminate the contract and demand return of the down payment. In count III, The Terraces alleged, in the alternative, unjust enrichment.

On December 17, 2008, Chamberlin and Dorigan filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings as to count I and a motion to dismiss counts II and III. Following argument, the trial court granted both motions on February 11, 2009. The trial court found that the September 8, 2006, agreement was “unambiguous” and was “a fully integrated and enforceable agreement granting an option to [The Terraces] to purchase the subject property.” The court also specifically found that the agreement was unambiguous in that the installment payments were nonrefundable once paid and that Chamberlin and Dorigan were entitled to retain the $100,000. In addition, the trial court found that, since the agreement was an option agreement, it was not subject to the Act. This appeal followed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Chamberlin and Dorigan’s motions were brought pursuant to sections 2 — 615(e) and 2 — 619(a)(9) of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2- — 615(e), 2 — 619(a)(9) (West 2008)). We review de novo the trial court’s decisions regarding motions brought pursuant to both of these sections. See Gillen v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., 215 Ill. 2d 381, 385 (2005) (section 2 — 615(e) motion for judgment on the pleadings); Lacey v. Village of Palatine, 232 Ill. 2d 349, 359 (2009) (section 2 — 619(a)(9) motion to dismiss).

ANALYSIS

The trial court granted judgment on the pleadings on count I of the second amended complaint. A motion seeking judgment on the pleadings is like a motion for summary judgment limited to the pleadings. Employers Insurance of Wausau v. Ehlco Liquidating Trust, 186 Ill. 2d 127, 138 (1999). Judgment on the pleadings is proper where the pleadings disclose that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Employers Insurance of Wausau, 186 Ill. 2d at 138. In ruling on such a motion, the court will consider only those facts apparent from the face of the pleadings, matters subject to judicial notice, and judicial admissions in the record. Gillen, 215 Ill. 2d at 385. We take as true all well-pleaded facts and reasonable inferences drawn therefrom. Gillen, 215 Ill. 2d at 385.

The Terraces first contends that in the trial court Chamberlin and Dorigan took inconsistent positions regarding the nature of the agreement, changing their characterization of it from (1) a valid, fully integrated, and enforceable real estate contract to (2) an option contract. However, even if this is true, it is irrelevant. Our de novo review of the trial court’s judgment on Chamberlin and Dorigan’s motion does not depend upon the parties’ prior characterizations.

The Terraces next contends that the agreement was not a fully integrated, enforceable contract for the sale of the property. We agree. It is essential in pleading the existence of a valid contract to allege facts sufficient to indicate the terms of the contract. Sherman v. Ryan, 392 Ill. App. 3d 712, 732 (2009). The agreement provided the parties, the address of the property, the purchase price, the down payment, the closing date, and the acceptable methods of paying the balance of the purchase price. However, the agreement did not provide for the transfer from Chamberlin and Dorigan to The Terraces of any equitable right or interest in the property. The Terraces could have walked away from the proposed deal at any time prior to closing while only forfeiting part or all of the down payment; the failure to make the May 1, 2007, payment or to close on August 1, 2007, would render the transaction “null and void.” Thus, Chamberlin and Dorigan could not seek specific performance to order The Terraces’ purchase of the property. The agreement was not an enforceable contract for the sale of the property.

The Terraces next contends that the trial court erred in finding that the agreement was an enforceable contract granting an option to purchase the property.

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Bluebook (online)
929 N.E.2d 1161, 399 Ill. App. 3d 1090, 341 Ill. Dec. 82, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 892, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/terraces-of-sunset-park-llc-v-chamberlin-illappct-2010.