United States Installment Realty Co. v. DeLancy Co.

188 N.W. 212, 152 Minn. 78, 1922 Minn. LEXIS 480
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedApril 28, 1922
DocketNo. 22,761
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 188 N.W. 212 (United States Installment Realty Co. v. DeLancy Co.) 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
United States Installment Realty Co. v. DeLancy Co., 188 N.W. 212, 152 Minn. 78, 1922 Minn. LEXIS 480 (Mich. 1922).

Opinion

Taylor, C.

The plaintiff in this action was the defendant in a former action involved in these proceedings, and the defendant in this action was the plaintiff in that action. To avoid confusion we shall refer to them as the Realty Company and the De Lancy Company, respectively.

The De Lancy Company owned two apartment buildings in the city of Minneapolis, the first subject to encumbrances of $32,000, the second subject to encumbrances of $22,000. The Realty Company owned a large quantity of land in the state of Texas subject to encumbrances of $20 per acre. On May 11, 1916, the two companies entered into a contract in which the De Lancy Company agreed to [80]*80convey to tbe Realty Company tbe first apartment building subject to tbe encumbrances tbereon, and tbe Realty Company agreed to pay tbe De Lancy Company $23,000 in casb and $12,000 in its bonds and to enter into a contract, in tbe form used by tbe Realty Company, to convey to tbe De Lancy Company parcels numbered 1 to 81 inclusive, aggregating 1,856 acres, of its Texas land, free and clear from all encumbrance, on being paid, on or before May 11, 1921, tbe sum of $37,120, being tbe amount of tbe encumbrance tbereon.

On May 20, 1916, under and pursuant to tbe above contract, tbe De Lancy Company conveyed tbe apartment building to tbe Realty Company, and tbe Realty Company made tbe stipulated payments, and both companies executed a supplementary contract, by wbicb tbe De Lancy Company agreed to pay $120,120 for tbe 1,856 acres of Texas land, of wbicb sum $83,000 was paid by tbe conveyance of tbe apartment building and tbe balance of $37,120, being tbe aggregate amount of tbe existing encumbrances on tbe land, was to be paid on or before May 20, 1921, and tbe Realty Company agreed to convey tbe land to tbe De Lancy Company free from all encumbrance (except a half interest in tbe mineral rights) on tbe terms and conditions specified in this contract.

On June 1,1916, tbe two companies entered into another contract, in wbicb tbe De Lancy Company agreed to convey to tbe Realty Company its second apartment building, subject to tbe encumbrances tbereon, and tbe Realty Company agreed to pay tbe De Lancy Company $5,000 in casb and $210,500 in certain specified obligations and toi enter into a contract, in tbe form used by tbe Realty Company, to convey to tbe De Lancy Company parcels numbered 82 to 129 inclusive, aggregating 1,061 81/100 acres, of its Texas land free and clear from all encumbrance, on being paid, on or before June 1, 1921, tbe sum of $21,236.10, being tbe amount of tbe encumbrances tbereon, for wbicb sum tbe De Lancy Company agreed to give its promissory note. On June 19, 1916, under and pursuant to this contract, tbe De Lancy Company conveyed to tbe Realty Company tbe second apartment building subject to tbe encumbrances thereon, and tbe Realty Company made tbe stipulated payments, and both companies executed a supplementary contract by wbicb tbe [81]*81De Lancy Company agreed to pay $69,018.30 for the 1,061.82 acres of Texas land, of which sum $47,781.90 was paid by the conveyance of the second apartment building, and the balance of $21,236.40 was to be paid according to the terms of the promissory note therefor executed by the De Lancy Company and payable on or before June 1, 1921, and the Bealty Company agreed to convey the land to the De Lancy Company free from all encumbrance (except a half interest in the mineral rights) “upon the terms and conditions [therein] set forth.” The contracts also contained a provision requiring the Bealty Company to convey any one or more of the parcels of land at any time on being paid $20 per acre, the amount of the existing encumbrance thereon.

About July 1, 1919, the De Lancy Company brought an action against the Bealty Company for damages for fraudulently misrepresenting the character, quality, condition and value of the Texas land and the value of the bonds and obligations of the Bealty Company issued to the De Lancy Company as a part of the consideration for the conveyance of the apartment buildings. It set forth the transactions relating to the first apartment building as a first cause of action, and the transactions relating to the second apartment building as a second cause of action. The trial began May 18, 1921, and resulted in a verdict in favor of the De Lancy Company for the sum of $10,136, on June 3, 1921. On the return of the verdict the court entered an order staying proceedings thereon for a period of 60 days.

The note of the De Lancy Company for $21,236.40 having become due, the Bealty Company, on June 19, 1921, sued thereon and in its complaint set forth the rendition of the verdict for $10,036 in favor of the De Lancy Company in the other action, and alleged that the De Lancy Company had no; property or assets except that verdict and was wholly insolvent, and asked that the amount of the verdict or of any judgment entered thereon be offset against and be paid and satisfied out of the amount recovered in the suit on the note, and further asked that the De Lancy Company be enjoined from transferring the verdict or enforcing collection of it during the pendency of the action on the note.

[82]*82Thereafter and before the stay in the other action had expired, the Realty Company made an application for a temporary injunction restraining the De Lancy Company from transferring or encumbering the verdict or any judgment that might be entered thereon until the termination of the action on the note. The trial court denied this application and the Realty Company appeals.

Whether the Realty Company is entitled to the temporary injunction for which it applied is the question presented. From the memorandum of the trial court which was made a part of its order, it appears that the principal, and perhaps the only, reason for refusing to grant the injunction, was the fact that in the opinion of the court the Realty Company is not entitled to recover on the note.

In the present action the De Lancy Company took the position that the recovery in the former action was only for the damages sustained in consequence of the performance of those provisions of the contracts which had been actually performed; that it had been determined in the former action that the De Lancy Company had the right to repudiate and rescind the contracts insofar as such contracts remained executory; that it had repudiated and rescinded all unperformed provisions of the contracts, and that the Realty Company is barred from enforcing payment of the note on which it bases the present action. The trial court seems to have taken this view of the situation.

The remedies open to a party who has been induced to enter into a contract by fraudulent misrepresentation are well settled and have frequently been pointed out. If he discovers the fraud while the contract remains wholly executory, his only remedy is to repudiate and rescind the contract; if he performs or accepts performance, in whole or in part, he thereby affirms the contract and waives the. fraud. Defiel v. Rosenberg, 144 Minn. 166, 174 N. W. 838; O’Neil v. Davidson, 147 Minn. 240, 180 N. W. 102; The Encyclopedia Press, Inc. v. Harris, 140 Minn. 145, 167 N. W. 363; Bartleson v. Vanderhoff, 96 Minn. 184, 104 N. W. 820; Thompson v. Libby, 36 Minn. 287, 31 N. W. 52. If he has performed the contract, in whole or in part, before discovering the fraud, he may affirm the contract and sue for damages, or he may rescind the contract and recover what he parted [83]*83with on returning what he received, but any.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
188 N.W. 212, 152 Minn. 78, 1922 Minn. LEXIS 480, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-installment-realty-co-v-delancy-co-minn-1922.