Refund of Down Payment

[jldean97]

Agreed to sell a couple my kitchen cabinets for $1,500. In March, they gave me a $600 down payment with an agreement that I would keep them in my garage until they paid the balance. After many, many telephone calls and responses of many excuses (husband had surgery, waiting for vacation check, not enough money yet), I am now wondering if I can sell these cabinets to someone else. (In March, I turned away approximately 7 potential buyers after I received the downpayment.) Am I obligated to return the downpayment according to PENNSYLVANIA law?

 

[loku]

Down payment on cabinets

In contract law, if a definite time period is not stated for performance, a reasonable time is implied. Since three months has gone by and you have turned away 7 potential buyers, courts would almost certainly say more than a reasonable time has gone by; therefore, they are in breach of contract. However, the $600 was not a deposit to hold the cabinets, but a down payment and, in effect, a deposit to hold. In this circumstance, I doubt a court would award you the entire $600 for the breach. That would PROBABLY be unjust enrichment because it is a large percentage of the entire price. However, they would probably award you a "reasonable" amount for holding he cabinets. What that amount would be, I don't know, but I would suggest you compromise with them and keep a part of the down payment.