Fitch v. Willard

Citations

• 73 Ill. 92

Syllabus

<p>1. Contract—-for sale of land, construed as to vendor's undertaking in respect to the title. A clause in a contract for the sale of land, that the vendor is to furnish a satisfactory abstract of title, and give a quit-claim or special warranty deed, upon the tender of which the cash payments are to be made, implies no undertaking as to the character of title to be conveyed, but, on the contrary, shows that the vendor assumes no responsibility as to the title any further than it may have been affected by his own acts.</p> <p>2. Specific performance—defeated by laches. On bill by a purchaser of land for specific performance, filed over five years after the making of the contract, during which time he never offered to perform on his part, it was held, that his laches was such as to preclude his right to relief, unless satisfactorily explained.</p> <p>3. Same-—excuse for delay and failure to perform. Where the vendor of land assumes no responsibility as to his title, and is to make only a quitclaim or special warranty deed, but is to furnish a satisfactory abstract of title, the purchaser, for a reasonabh objection to the title, may elect whether he will accept a conveyance. If h elects to take it under a contract which is unilateral, any delay on his pa: „ in complying with its terms, will be regarded, with especial strictness. The fact of objection to the title in such a case, does not justify great delay on the part of- the purchaser in performing.</p> <p>4. Admission—of contract is none of its construction. The admission by a vendor, in a suit by a third party against him and his vendee, of the execution of a contract of sale, is no admission of the proper construction to be put upon it in a suit between the vendor and vendee for specific performance, or of the vendee’s right to have the same specifically enforced.</p>