Court Opinion

ID: 9639294
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 16:11:24.438018+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:35:01.303859
License: Public Domain

MURRAH, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
I cannot consent to the reversal of judgment of the chancellor in this case. It is a cardinal principle of equitable jurisprudence that one who seeks specific performance of a contract must show that he has been “prompt, ready, able and eager to perform and abide by the same” — equity aids only the diligent, not the ones who slumber on their rights. Furthermore, an *913action for specific performance appeals largely to the discretion of the trial court, and will not he granted unless it affirmatively appears that it is equitable to do so. Fowler v. Marshall, 29 Kan. 665.
If a party to a contract fails to assert his rights under it for such a length of time as to give the impression that he has waived or abandoned it, or has acquiesced in the other party’s repudiation of it, he will be denied specific performance. See Specific Performance as a Matter of Right, 65 A.L.R. 53. Thus, it has always been the law in Kansas that “when a contract is repudiated by one of the parties thereto, the other party has a right to take such steps as he may deem necessary to protect himself against loss or damage because of such repudiation. The law imposes on him the duty of acting promptly, and if he does not so act, he can neither have specific performance nor collect damages, but will be held to have acquiesced in the repudiation of the contract.” Parks v. Monroe, 99 Kan. 368, 161 P. 638. See also Fowler v. Marshall, supra. When on July 31, 1937, appellee refused appellant’s tender under the contract, it became the duty of appellant to act with reasonable diligence and promptitude if he was to have the assistance of equity in the enforcement of his rights under the contract. But he did nothing to manifest his interest in the contract or its repudiation— for five years, lacking one day, he wholly ignored the contract and its repudiation. He neither tendered the interest on the unpaid purchase price, nor demanded any of the rents or profits from the land which the contract gave him.
The land in question was leased for oil and gas in 1936 — “there was an oil boom in 1937 and royalty could be sold.” The trial court found, and it is not disputed, that when on July 31, 1937, the tender was made under the contract, the land was of greater value than the contract price. Shell had the legal right to exercise his option to purchase by appropriate tender at any propitious time during the contractual period, but after the refusal of the tender he could not choose the most advantageous time to enforce his tender in a court of equity. Following the “oil boom” in 1937 there was a “material decrease” in the value of the land, but in 1940 the land began to increase in value and continued to increase because of good crops until the trial date. When in 1942 the land had increased $5,000 in excess of the nurchase price the appellant decided to compel performance of the contract, and brought this suit in equity for that purpose just one day less than five years from the date of its repudiation. Based on these undisputed facts the trial court held that the unexplained failure of the appellant to seek relief after repudiation for five years, lacking one day, indicated an abandonment of the contract and his acquiescence in its repudiation by the appellee.
Since specific performance rests largely within the sound discretion of the trial court, we have not the right to override its judgment unless from all the facts we must say that the trial court acted arbitrarily. We should not reverse simply because as the trier we might have appraised the facts differently and drawn different conclusions therefrom. From my own appraisal of the facts, I am unable to say that the trial court arbitrarily closed its doors to one who came with clean hands, was diligent and otherwise without fault.
I would affirm the judgment.