Title: Call v. Timber Lakes Corp.

State: utah

Issuer: Utah Supreme Court

Document:

567 P.2d 1108 (1977) Robert E. CALL, Everett H. Call and Ann D. Call, Plaintiffs and Respondents, v. TIMBER LAKES CORPORATION, Defendant and Appellant. No. 14839. Supreme Court of Utah. July 29, 1977. John S. Adams of Adams, Kasting & Anderson, Salt Lake City, for defendant-appellant. Russell C. Harris, Salt Lake City, for plaintiffs-respondents. ELLETT, Chief Justice: This is a suit for declaratory judgment to determine the validity of a written contract, for the sale of real property, dated November 6, 1971. The respondents, hereafter referred to as "Calls," were the purchasers and the appellant was the seller. The trial court held the contract to be valid and in full force and effect. This appeal is from that ruling. The contract provided for a down payment of $1,000 and the balance to be paid at the rate of $155.89 per month. The Calls made numerous late payments and missed several but were permitted to make up the missed payments. On or about December 12, 1974, Timber Lakes notified Calls in writing that they were in arrears in their payments in the amount of $1,558.90 and unless the same was paid by December 22, 1974, the contract would be terminated. The contract provided as follows: The evidence is in dispute regarding the efforts made to make the payments as demanded; but the court could find from the testimony given: (1) that the Calls contacted *1109 Timber Lakes and were informed that if they brought the delinquent interest up-to-date, amounting to over $600, by January 3, 1975, the contract would not be forfeited; (2) Calls took the check made out for the delinquent interest to appellant's office, but instead of tendering it, they offered a check for the entire amount of the arrearage demanded in the notice, to wit: $1,558.90; (3) that the check was refused and demand made for payment of the contract in full in the amount of some $7,400 plus $1,800 for a water hookup; (4) that there was no agreement to have a water hookup included in the contract. In its brief, Timber Lakes admits that in addition to the down payment, the Calls also made monthly payments totaling $2,181.07. This makes a total of $3,181.07 paid towards the purchase of three mountain lots fit only for camping out or for building a cabin. There was no income from the ownership of the lots. The original contract price for the lots was $10,000 plus a finance charge of $4,095. This Court has had occasion to consider the question of forfeiture provisions in real estate contracts, and as to such provisions we held in Jacobson v. Swan:[1] The court ruled that upon tender to the appellant of all delinquent payments under the contract, plus accrued interest and costs, within fifteen days from the date of the judgment, "the contract will be and is ordered reinstated." We see no abuse of discretion or error in the ruling made and, therefore, we affirm the judgment. Costs are awarded to the respondents on this appeal. CROCKETT, MAUGHAN, WILKINS and HALL, JJ., concur. [1] 3 Utah 2d 59, 65, 278 P.2d 294 (1954).