Court Opinion

ID: 9559500
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 17:30:17.528985+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:11:14.250895
License: Public Domain

ELLETT, Chief Justice:
(Dissenting)
On November 1, 1965, the appellant (hereafter referred to as the Corporation) and the respondent entered into a real estate Contract of Sale which among other matters contained the following pertinent paragraphs:
1. Seller, for the consideration herein mentioned agrees to sell and convey to the Buyer, and the Buyer for the consideration herein mentioned, agrees to purchase the following described real property, situate in the County of Daggett, State of Utah, more particularly described as follows:
Beginning at a point 2 rods West and 363 feet South of the Northeast corner of Section 24, Township 3 North, Range 19 East of the Salt Lake Meridian and running thence South 100 feet; thence West 150 feet; thence North 100 feet; thence East 150 feet to beginning.

14. It is hereby expressly understood and agreed by the parties hereto that Buyer accepts said property in its present condition, and that there are no representations, covenants or agreements between the parties hereto with reference to said property, except as specifically set forth or attached hereto.
There were no representations set forth in, or attached to, the agreement. Therefore the agreement being unambiguous cannot be reformed unless there was a mutual mistake of fact.
*66There is no evidence of any fraud or misrepresentation on the part of the Corporation, nor did the trial court find any such basis for granting relief to the respondent.
It seems that on or about May 15,1965, a real estate agent showed the property to the respondent and secured a conditional agreement of the Corporation to sell approximately one-third acre of land. The condition attached was that the agreement be approved by the legal department of the General Church office at Salt Lake City, Utah. No such approval was ever obtained and so the only agreement between the parties is that dated November 1, 1965.
The respondent claims that when the real estate agent pointed out the ground to him he represented that the land offered for sale was the land within the fences.
On or about July 7, 1965, and prior to the date of the agreement to sell the property the Corporation and defendants Tinker exchanged Quit Claim Deeds so as to clear up a boundary problem between their adjoining properties, and at the time of the sale the Corporation only owned the plot of land described in the agreement, to-wit: An area 100 feet by 150 feet.
There is no evidence of any mistake on the part of the Corporation in regard to the amount of land being sold. It sold all it owned and knew what it owned. The most that can be said is that the real estate salesman may have been mistaken when he showed the land to the respondent, but any representations which he may have made in May were waived in the written agreement between the parties dated November 1, 1965.
The court erred in admitting evidence regarding any oral representation which may have been made by the real estate agent six months prior to the agreement to sell. The respondent agreed to buy a parcel of land definitely described and he got a deed for that exact parcel and that is all he is entitled to.
The judgment insofar as it awards any land to the respondent other than that set out in the agreement should be reversed.
The appellant is entitled to its costs including attorney’s fees below and on appeal.
The case should be remanded for the trial court to fix the amount of the attorney’s fees and costs.