Court Opinion

ID: 9543812
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:49:28.638968+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:11:15.818746
License: Public Domain

Shea, J.
(concurring). I take issue with the portion of the opinion stating that the “contract contains no clause expressly making time of the essence . . . .” The agreement provided that unless the mortgage loan commitment was obtained “not later than April 23, 1975” the agreement for the sale of the property “shall become null and void and deposit money returned to Buyer.” Although time of performance is generally deemed not to be of the essence in real estate sale contracts, it is unquestionable that the parties may so stipulate and that a clear expression of such an intention must be given effect. 6 Williston, Contracts (3d Ed.) §846; 3A Corbin, Contracts §715; Camp v. Cohn, 151 Conn. 623, 625, 201 A.2d 187 (1964). It is not essential to phrase the provision in haec verba. “Any words which show that the intention of the parties is that time shall be of the essence of the contract or any clause which provides in unequivocal terms that if the fulfillment is not within a specified time the contract is to be void will have that effect.” 17 Am. Jur. 2d, Contracts § 333.
The clause before us would certainly qualify under this rule. In the context of the very same kind of transaction a similar mortgage contingency clause has been construed to make time of the essence. Grade v. Loafman, 314 Mich. 364, 22 N.W.2d 746 (1946). Contract provisions which not only set the time of performance but also spell out the consequences of nonperformance usually have been construed to make time of the essence. Butler v. Cortner, 42 Idaho 302, 246 P. 314 (1926); Wimer v. Wagner, 323 Mo. 1156, 20 S.W.2d 650 (1929); *398Doctorman v. Schroeder, 92 N.J. Eq. 676, 114 A. 810 (1921); cf. Walker v. Weaver, 23 N.C. App. 654, 209 S.E.2d 537 (1974); Hoffman v. Employer’s Liability Assurance Corporation, 146 Or. 66, 29 P.2d 557 (1934).
Although contract language must be construed in the light of the particular transaction involved and the relationship of the parties, none of the circumstances here points to any intention other than that clearly expressed. In fact, the nature of this kind of mortgage contingency clause, which depends for fulfillment upon conditions often within the control of the buyer, raises as a practical matter many of the considerations which have led to the settled view that time is of the essence in an option contract. 6 Williston, Contracts (3d Ed.) § 853; Patterson v. Farmington Street Ry. Co., 76 Conn. 628, 645, 57 A. 853 (1904). We are not dealing here with a situation where the buyer would suffer some extreme forfeiture which would justify excusing the nonperformance of a condition. Restatement (Second), Contracts (Tent. Ed. 1973) §255. The parties agreed upon a rescission if the contemplated commitment was not obtained by the date specified and there is nothing in the evidence to justify disregarding their well-expressed intention to that effect.
I concur in the result reached by the majority, however, because I agree with the conclusion1 of the trial court that the mortgage commitment condition, in the sense contemplated by the parties, was met once the loan committee of the lending institu*399tion approved the mortgage loan application of the plaintiff on April 23,1975, the date specified. It is a reasonable inference from the undisputed facts that this event, approval by the authorized agency of the bank, was precisely what the parties had in mind by using the term “mortgage commitment.” As the trial court observed, the primary purpose of the clause had been served, and the delivery of a formal letter to the plaintiff, his acceptance of the terms of the loan, and his payment of various fees were never considered in fixing the particular date. They had in mind only the main event, loan approval by that date. The fact that the bank might not have been legally “committed” to making the loan until the various additional conditions set forth in its letter had been accepted or fulfilled would not indicate that performance of all these details by the time specified was ever intended.
For the reasons given I concur in the result reached by the majority.

 The majority opinion implies that the trial court failed to decide whether the mortgage commitment clause had been satisfied by approval of the loan on April 23, 1975. The pertinent portion of the memorandum of decision is as follows: “It can also be argued as to what was the precise meaning of the mortgage commitment *399clause. The mortgage financing was approved by the mortgage committee of the bank on April 23, 1975. Had not the primary purpose of the clause been met? Was it necessary to deliver a written letter of commitment to the defendants? Was it necessary to have the plaintiff actually pay the finder’s fee as required by the letter from the bank, on or before April 23, 1975, for the formal commitment to be in effect? It is obvious from these questions that none of these considerations were even contemplated in fixing the date of April 23, 1975.” This passage indicates in rhetorical fashion that the trial court did conclude that approval of the application was what the parties meant by a “mortgage commitment.”