Opinion ID: 780630
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Parties' Original Purchase Agreement

Text: 3 In September 1995 Cohen attended a semiannual convention held by Value Retail News (VRN), an industry trade organization for developers of outlet malls, where he was introduced to James Morse, Jr., the president of JMJ. Cohen and Morse discussed CDC's interest in flipping or selling 60 acres of the Roden property for the development of a retail mall while retaining the remaining 75 acres. Morse and Cohen reached a handshake deal for CDC to sell 60 acres to JMJ once it acquired the Roden property, and on October 24, 1995, CDC and JMJ executed a Purchase Agreement memorializing their understanding. Under the Agreement, which was valid for one year, JMJ agreed to purchase from CDC 60 acres of the Roden property for $1,050,000, subject to certain contingencies, and to pay CDC earnest money of $5,000 per month during the term of the Agreement. The parties amended the Agreement in March 1996 to provide that JMJ would by July 1, 1996, designate specifically in writing the land it would purchase (that designation was necessary because at the time the Agreement was signed, CDC and JMJ had allowed the boundary of the 60 acres to float within the entire 135-acre parcel due to wetland mitigation issues). In August JMJ identified the parcel it would purchase. 4 During 1996 JMJ attempted to pre-lease space in the outlet mall (before developers begin construction on a mall, they prefer to have 50-70% of the planned store space pre-leased). Leasing progressed slowly, however, and in June and July 1996 Morse and Cohen discussed extending the Purchase Agreement so that JMJ would have extra time to market the property. At another VRN conference in the fall of 1996, Cohen presented to Morse a second amendment to extend the Purchase Agreement. Morse reviewed the draft with his attorneys but rejected it in a November 11 letter to Cohen because the changes and additions it made to the original Purchase Agreement were too substantial to consider. Around this time Cohen also met with the Rodens to try to extend the Option Agreement beyond November 1997, but they refused. JMJ and CDC failed to agree to an extension of the Purchase Agreement, and it expired in November 1996. Although CDC and JMJ continued to negotiate after the Agreement expired, CDC also explored options with other developers to purchase the Roden property. Overtures made in January 1997 to Insignia Commercial Investments Group, for instance, proved unsuccessful.