Court Opinion

ID: 9552856
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 19:18:27.562567+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:29:14.427985
License: Public Domain

Mowbray, J.,
dissenting:
Respectfully, I dissent.
As I understand the ruling, a landowner who offers his land for sale, enters into an escrow agreement for that purpose which is not completed because the buyer fails to perform in accordance with its terms may still be held liable thereafter by “his silence”. In this case it is claimed that Callahan, a realtor, acting for the owner, verbally extended the escrow after its extinguishment. The owner testified that he never authorized such an extension. The trial court so found. But our ruling today concludes that the landowner did so, predicated on the theory of “estoppel by silence”. I feel this pronouncement may endanger the orderly conduct of commercial transactions. For these reasons I dissent. The judgment of the district court should, in my opinion, be affirmed.