QUESTION
I was sued when I tried to sell my bldng.
Asked on Feb 01st, 2016 on Real Estate - California
More details to this question:
The buyer tied me up over two years and now says he wants to perform but I have built $300,000 in equity and paid all the expenses during his lawsuit $200,000 The Judge says he needs me to show him a legal vehicle to give me the expenses or equity if the deal goes through
1 ANSWER
It depends on who breached the contract. If you are successful in proving that the buyer breached the contract in a material way, then he loses, he does not get to buy the property, and if the contract has an attorney fees clause, then he owes you reimbursement for any attorney fees you paid. The only way for the buyer to get the property is to pay you whatever you ask for it, which could be the current market price.
I once sued a seller on behalf of the buyer. We had a strong case, but in order to avoid the time, expense and risk of a trial, the buyer agreed to pay more for the property, in order to settle the case.
If the court finds that the buyer did not breach the contract or that the buyer breached but that its breach was not material enough to justify you refusing to sell, then you lose. The buyer gets to buy for the contract price, and, if there's an attorney fees clause, it gets a credit against the purchase price to reimburse the buyer for its attorney fees. You don't get your expenses and appreciation in value, because the expenses are your fault and the appreciation belongs to the buyer.
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Dana Sack
Answered on Feb 02nd, 2016 at 10:55 AM