Litigation shareholder Steven Davis prevailed at a three day Zoom trial in the 11th Judicial Circuit Court in Miami-Dade County representing New Gala Building LLC, the Seller of a shopping center with a $1.5 million purchase price.
The Buyer, 1440 Plaza LLC, sued Seller for specific performance to force the sale in which they entered into a standard commercial real estate contract which had a “Time is of the Essence” provision. Buyer also sought damages.
The Buyer had sufficient cash to close and did not exercise an option for Seller financing, but rather, applied for bank financing.
The Buyer did not provide all of the requisite documents to his bank and was not ready to close by the designated and agreed upon closing date. The Buyer did not seek an extension of the closing date. The Seller declared the Buyer in default and the Buyer was ready to close two days later.
The Court held that testimony that the closing was to be a mail away closing was not credible, as the title attorney made no arrangements for a mail away closing. The Court further held that where time is of the essence, the Buyer had an obligation to get to the closing table on time.
The Seller was ready to close; the Buyer was not and his attorney made no arrangements for the in person closing to occur on the agreed upon closing date.
While the Buyer attempted to place some blame on the Seller, the Court held that such blame or allegation of default on the Seller’s part must have been provided as a notice of default in advance and the Seller must have been given an opportunity to cure. The Buyer did not provide such notice.
The Court therefore found judgment for the Seller including retaining the Buyer’s $75,000 deposit.