Opinion ID: 1726449
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: action of the trial court

Text: The trial court's opinion sustaining the motion to dismiss under MRCP 12(b)(6) notes that the option to purchase did not on its face provide for the type of deed the defendant was to convey nor does it recite the terms of payment. The court noted that paragraph 4 of the option stated that the terms of the sale would be provided in an agreement to be exercised [executed] between Griffin and Busching. Paragraph 6, the court noted, also contemplated that the parties would perform their obligations in the form of agreement to be made between them. To be enforceable, the court concluded that the contract to enter into a future contract must specify all the material and essential terms and leave none to be agreed upon as the result of future negotiations. Although the court noted that the law may imply the intention of the parties as to the time of payment, it may not imply what the parties would agree upon as to other essential terms of the contract. Therefore the court concluded that even though the price of the property was settled the option expressly contemplated a future agreement. The court was concerned that the seller may want the total purchase price in cash upon closing or may want to take a certain cash amount, subject to agreement to be made, and finance the balance over a period of time for whatever reason. The court's opinion concludes: that the mentions of a subsequent agreement as to the purchase price are not definite and certain and leaves this to be agreed upon future negotiations. In his motion under MRCP 59 and 60, Busching asks the court to recognize that Griffin failed to come into court with clean hands in that she refused to comply with the option agreement after the property was freed from litigation. His affidavit states that he would pay the $50,000 in a lump sum or subject to any terms within the bounds of the law specified by Griffin. At the hearing on the motion, Busching argued there were matters the court did not consider in rendering its judgment in that it looked merely at the form of the option. Busching offered to testify regarding the facts set forth in his affidavit but the trial court sustained defendant's motion to exclude Busching's testimony and dismiss Busching's motions.