TERESA SMITH, AS DEVISEE OF RONNIE CRABTREE v. LINDA D. HATFIELD (Tenn. Ct. App. December 5, 2011)
This is a breach of contract case. The defendant seller entered into a contract to sell a mobile home to the plaintiff's decedent. The contract required the decedent to make monthly payments by a date certain for eighty-four months, and if he failed to do so, all of his payments would be forfeited as rent. The decedent failed to make all of his payments in a timely manner. Later, the decedent died.
The plaintiff, the decedent's sole devisee, offered to pay the contract off by making a lump-sum payment to the defendant. The defendant rejected this offer. The plaintiff filed this lawsuit against the defendant, seeking to require the defendant to accept the lump-sum payment and convey the property to her. The trial court dismissed the plaintiff's claims upon the close of her proof, because the undisputed evidence showed that she had not made the required monthly payments under the contract.The plaintiff now appeals. We affirm and award attorney fees for a frivolous appeal.
Opinion available at:
http://www.tba2.org/tba_files/TCA/2011/smitht_120511.pdf
