Court Opinion

ID: 9676765
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 05:32:35.720757+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:51.040131
License: Public Domain

On Rehearing
HAWTHORNE, Justice
(dissenting).
I think that the majority is correct in finding that the deposit of $780 made by *557Mark J. Falgoust was not earnest because it was not given for the purpose of securing to the parties the privilege of withdrawing from the contract under the provisions of Article 2463 of the Civil Code. However, plaintiffs are not seeking the privilege of withdrawing from the contract, but on the contrary are trying to enforce the contract by instituting this suit for specific performance, and therefore I fail to see the relevance of the fact that the deposit was not intended as earnest.
The majority says that under the clear and explicit language of the contract the defendant Falgoust is entitled to recover not only his deposit but also a like sum from the plaintiffs as a penalty. Thus a penalty is being imposed upon plaintiffs in spite of the fact that they were willing and ready to timely convey title to the property, which Falgoust refused to accept on the ground that plaintiffs’ title is suggestive of litigation! In other words, the penalty is being imposed not because plaintiffs are at fault, or have acted in bad faith, or have by any action of theirs encumbered the title, or have refused to comply with the contract; it is being imposed simply because their title has been held by this court to be suggestive of litigation. On the other hand, Falgoust has been relieved by this court of his obligation to purchase because of plaintiffs’ inability to tender a title which is not suggestive of litigation, and therefore escapes the penalty and is entitled to the return of his deposit.
The contract which these parties executed is a printed form in general use by the real estate firms and agents in the City of New Orleans. Under the majority holding, no prospective seller should ever execute this form unless he is sure that his title, back to its inception, is free from suggested litigation, for, if it is not, he will not only have to return the deposit received by him but also have to pay a like amount as a penalty, regardless of his good faith and willingness to comply with the contract. I do not believe that those who prepared this printed form ever intended that its provisions should be construed in this manner.
By the contract here under consideration, plaintiffs agreed to sell and defendant agreed to purchase certain property in the City of New Orleans for a stipulated price, title to be passed on or before a fixed date. This is the principal obligation of the contract. The penal provision of the contract, which is its secondary obligation,1 reads as follows:
“ * * * In event that purchaser fails to comply with this agreement within the time specified, the vendor shall have the right, either to declare the deposit, ipso facto, forfeited, without formality and without placing purchaser in default, or the vendor may demand specific performance. * * * *559In the event that the vendor does not comply with this agreement to sell within the time specified, purchaser shall have the right either to demand the return of double the deposit, or specific performance. * * * ”
Article 2120 of the Louisiana Civil Code provides that, as the penalty is stipulated merely to enforce the performance of the principal obligation, the penalty is not incurred even though the principal obligation is not performed if there is a lawful excuse for its non-performance, such as inevitable accident, or irresistible force. It is well settled that “inevitable accident” and “irresistible force” are not the only excuses for the non-performance of the principal obligation, but are merely illustrations of what may be considered a lawful excuse. Niblett Farms v. Markley-Bankhead, 202 La. 982, 13 So.2d 287; Williams v. Hunter, 13 La.Ann. 476. In the instant case the plaintiffs’ inability to offer defendant a title which is free from suggested litigation is apparently something which they are unable to control or correct, and is therefore in my opinion a lawful excuse within the provisions of Article 2120 which wipes out the penal provisions of the contract. See Williams v. Hunter, supra.
I am of the opinion that the holding of this court in Johnson v. Johnson, 213 La. 1092, 36 So.2d 396, is pertinent and applicable here, because it offers the only just and logical solution to a problem of -this kind

. See Art. 2117, La.Civil Code.