Roesch v. Bray

545 N.E.2d 1301 (1988)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P (husband and wife) entered into a written contract for the sale of their home to D (the wife was the daughter of Harry Bray). Approximately five days after the contract was entered into, D informed P that they would not be able to perform on the contract. Prior to the breach of the contract, P had entered into a contract to purchase another home. The sales contract to D provided for a purchase price of $65,000, $45,000 to be paid at the time of closing and $20,000 to be paid upon the sale of D's home with no interest to be charged on said amount. Because of D's breach, P borrowed $65,000 from a third party at sixteen percent interest in order to meet his obligations under the contract for the purchase of his new home. D ultimately resold the property a year later for $63,500. P sued D. The trial court granted P's motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of breach of contract. The referee recommended an award of money damages in the amount of $9,163.06. This included payments for utilities, insurance, real estate taxes, yard maintenance, advertising, and interest on the $45,000 that was payable to P from D at the proposed closing date, at the rate of sixteen percent interest. The trial judge adopted the referee's report, allowing for interest on the amount awarded at the rate of ten percent from the date of the breach. Both parties appealed. P contends that the trial court erred in failing to award damages for the difference between the contract price agreed to by appellees and the resale price of the home in August 1983.