Opinion ID: 1212865
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts related to the principal issue

Text: The contract is ungrammatical and difficult to interpret. Pertinent portions are: 3. Consent of Commission: a). Performance of the obligations of the parties under this agreement and the Closing of the transactions provided for herein are and shall be subject to the occurrence of the express condition precedent that the consent of the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) shall have been granted to the assignment of the broadcast license of Station to Buyer and such consent shall have become a final non-appealable order. b). The parties agree to cooperate with each other in seeking the Commission's consent.       11. Termination: a) This Agreement may be terminated by Seller or Buyer prior to the Closing, upon ten (10) days written notice to the other, if any of the representations or warranties of the other party are not performed during the period or at or before the time specified herein for such performance and such inaccuracy of a representation or warranty, failure of performance or an obligation or non-satisfaction of a condition if: I) such breach is capable of being cured and has not been cured within thirty (30) days after written demand therefore [sic], or II) has not been waived in writing in accordance with subparagraph 15c) hereof by the party seeking to terminate this Agreement. b) This Agreement shall be terminated without notice, if consent to the assignment of license of Station to buyer is denied or refused renewal by final order of the Commission. c) Within one (1) year after filing of applications pursuant to paragraph 3, the Commission's consent shall not have been granted to the assignment of license of Station to Buyer. Paragraph 15 of the contract is entitled Miscellaneous, and subparagraph c) states: Any notice, report, demand, waiver or consent required or permitted hereunder shall be in writing and shall be given by prepaid registered or certified mail, with return receipt requested, address as follows: ... The contract was dated November 8, 1977. An application for transfer of the broadcast license was mailed to the FCC on January 27, 1978 and acknowledged on February 7, 1978. On February 8, 1979 (at which time FCC approval had not been granted), appellees notified the appellant that the contract was terminated. Appellant's counsel presented the district court with an affidavit detailing his extensive experience as an employee of and practitioner before the FCC and offering his opinion that FCC approval would have been forthcoming within 30 days of the February 7, 1979, deadline had the contract not been terminated. In his order announcing the summary judgment, the district court judge relied on the language of the contract, as well as a letter interpretation placed on the contract by Everett Hicks, appellant's vice president, in his communication to Mildred Ernst. Before reproducing pertinent portions of the letter, a few explanatory comments are in order. FCC approval of the transfer had been delayed in whole or in part because a third party, Associated Christian Broadcasters, had originally opposed the transfer. The parties had discussed this delay at an earlier meeting, apparently under the impression that the contract deadline for approval was one year after the signing of the contract. The letter recites an agreement with the Associated Christian Broadcasters under which their opposition to the transfer is to be dropped. It then continues: ... Consequently, it now should only be a matter of processing time in the Commission. In this regard, Mildred, since my return to New York, I have of course been rereading the existing sales contract on KWRB with a good deal of care. It appears to me that your option to cancel does not take place one year from the date of signing the sales contract but rather one year from the date of filing the joint license transfer application with the Commission. To the best of my knowledge, this would make the option date at some time in late January . . When Stuart Strang and I were in Thermopolis on our recent trip, you were kind enough to indicate that so long as Strang brought all its filings up-to-date and it became simply a question of time before the Commission acted, you would be prepared to give us a reasonable extension beyond the supposed November 8th deadline. I sincerely trust, therefore, that the actual cancellation date which I have come up with by a literal interpretation of the contract terms, will be in conformity with your own thinking regarding a reasonable time extension... . (Emphasis supplied)