Court Opinion

ID: 9666116
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 01:05:22.448693+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:15:23.939937
License: Public Domain

PEDERSON, Justice
(concurring in part and dissenting in part).
I concur insofar as the majority opinion determines that the trial court was correct in finding that Mattco is entitled to specific performance of its agreement with Mandan Radio. The terms of the condition precedent were oral as between Mandan Radio and Mattco. Under Rule 52(a), NDRCivP, the trial court did not clearly err in Finding No. 9 that as between Mattco and Mandan Radio “the contract [is] subject to a condition precedent that any option rights in Richard Johnson would be resolved before the agreement had effect as a contract.” [Emphasis added.]
I do not concur in the implication left by the trial court, and now this court, that the offer to Johnson was only that his rights be resolved. The communication by Mandan Radio to Johnson in the form of a letter dated February 14, 1973 (defendant’s Exhibit C), is clearly an offer to sell and cannot be interpreted to mean that it contemplated only that Johnson’s rights, if any, would be resolved.
To the extent that the court’s finding can be interpreted as disposing of any present or potential dispute between Mandan Radio and Johnson on the same basis as it disposes of the dispute between Mandan Radio and Mattco, it is clearly erroneous.
It may seem incongruous that Mandan Radio would express the condition precedent in one way to Mattco and in another way to Johnson, but this is clearly what the record supports.