Vallentine v. Carter

Citations

• 49 Wash. 141
• 94 P. 932
• 1908 Wash. LEXIS 540

Syllabus

<p>Specific Performance — Evidence—Sufficiency — Principal and Agent — Authority of Agent — Ratification. Specific performance of a contract to convey land cannot be decreed where it appears that the same was made by agents of a nonresident owner who at the time had no authority to sell or offer the same for sale; that the terms of the. contract, which was subject to the owner’s approval, gave the vendees thirty days within which to close the deal after the title was made good, but this and other terms were never disclosed to the owner or approved by him; that the owner by telegraph finally authorized a sale at the price fixed, providing “$15,000 be paid down,” and executed deeds and approved securities to close the sale; that after some delay the agents of the owners notified the vendees that the sale must be closed within a certain time (less than thirty days from the time title was made good), which demand was ac1 quiesced in by the vendees’ agent at the time, but was not complied with, whereupon the deeds were returned to and destroyed by the owner, who refused to complete the sale; since the contract relied upon was never approved or ratified by the owner, who made his own contract which was terminated on failure to complete the same on time.</p> <p>Same — Ratification. The fact that, after suit brought, the owner learned of the agent’s contract and that $500 earnest money had been paid to his agents, would not require him to return the money or constitute a ratification of the sale, where he had not 'received any of the money, and return thereof had never been demanded.</p>