Estates at Woodland Hills, LLC
v.
Scott Family Properties, LLC
Appellee
Estates at Woodland Hills, LLC
Appellant
Scott Family Properties, LLC
Attorney for the Appellee
Sean M. Corpstein and Justin Sullivan
Attorney for the Appellant
Matthew Boles, Christopher Stewart, and Michael Altes
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, David Nelmark, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by Greer, P.J., and Buller and Langholz, JJ. Opinion by Langholz, J. (14 pages)
Scott Family Properties, LLC appeals a district court judgment finding that it breached a real-estate contract and ordering specific performance. Scott Properties argues that the buyer, Woodland Hills, LLC, repudiated the contract when it offered a new closing date and that Woodland Hills’ failure to perform on the original closing date relieved Scott Properties of any contract obligations after that date. OPINION HOLDS: Woodland Hills did not repudiate the contract—proposing a new closing date was an option expressly contemplated by the contract. And Woodland Hills could not perform on the original closing date because Scott Properties failed to provide the information necessary to tender payment or otherwise close. What’s more, the mutual failure to perform on that date kept the contract alive. So when Scott Properties later refused to perform, it breached the purchase agreement. We thus affirm the district court and award Woodland Hills appellate attorney fees.
