NSSH Assures Breach of Contract Matter Dismissal Affirmed on Appeal
Background:
A woman was sued by a real estate broker for breach of contract for selling her own home after allegedly having agreed to give the broker exclusive rights to purchase it through a residential lease purchase agreement. The Magisterial District Judged issued a judgment in favor of the broker, the plaintiff.
Solution:
Nauman Smith attorney Lucinda Glinn represented the defendant in the appeal to the Cumberland County Court of Common Pleas. Before the trial court, Glinn argued the broker could not claim breach of contract because no enforceable contract existed. Glinn specifically argued that the essential elements of a contract were absent because no "meeting of the minds" existed as to the terms of the agreement, including the material term of rent for the lease upon which the option to purchase was premised, and lack of adequate consideration. Further, the condition of financing was never met.
Results:
The trial court ruled in favor of the defendant and dismissed the complaint as without legal merit. Plaintiff appealed the trial court's order; upon appeal, after briefing, the Superior Court likewise found the broker's arguments were without merit.
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