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Quick quiz question

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mbroker

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Massachusetts

Question
A duly executed real estate offer contains a home inspection requirement that says the outcome has to be “satisfactory in the Offeror's reasonable discretion”. This means the Offeror can walk away with the deposit money if:

A) S/he does not like the inspection's outcome for any reason
B) The Offeree agrees that the results were unacceptable
C) The average person would find that the property's condition in unacceptable
D) The cost of repair would be greater than the deposit money
 


Isis1

Senior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Massachusetts

Question
A duly executed real estate offer contains a home inspection requirement that says the outcome has to be “satisfactory in the Offeror's reasonable discretion”. This means the Offeror can walk away with the deposit money if:

A) S/he does not like the inspection's outcome for any reason
B) The Offeree agrees that the results were unacceptable
C) The average person would find that the property's condition in unacceptable
D) The cost of repair would be greater than the deposit money
dude...we don't do homework. start studying.
 

mbroker

Junior Member
It's not homework. It's meant to address a very specific legal principle, ambiguity in the wording, and which would override.

Obviously, a little beyond your perceptive skills. Thanks for the entertainment though.
 

Silverplum

Senior Member
It's not homework.
That's right.

According to you, it's a "Quiz."

mbroker said:
It's meant to address a very specific legal principle, ambiguity in the wording, and which would override.
That's why your teacher/prof designed the quiz in that manner.

To make YOU think, read, research, and learn. ;)

mbroker said:
Obviously, a little beyond your perceptive skills. Thanks for the entertainment though.
FAIL.
 

mbroker

Junior Member
I have already discussed this with 4 lawyers and seeing there wasn't a consensus, I was curious what others might know.

I don't have a professor and it isn't homework. So if you really have no clue what the answer is, then we can all wait together !
 

justalayman

Senior Member
I didn't say I didn't know the answer. In fact, I inferred I do know the correct answer by stating that the correct answer is not within the choices presented.
 

mbroker

Junior Member
I didn't say I didn't know the answer. In fact, I inferred I do know the correct answer by stating that the correct answer is not within the choices presented.
Sorry, my prior post was entered before I saw your post and was directed at the other two posts.

I will make this a lot easier for everyone. If the offer contained the language which made the home inspection “satisfactory in the Offeror's reasonable discretion.”

Would answer A) allow the offeror to walk away with their deposit?
 

justalayman

Senior Member
that would infer that A might be a correct answer. I already told you the correct answer isn't provided in the choices.

Now, with that said, there is a choice that would allow the buyer to walk but acting based on that choice doesn't actually answer your query.
 

tranquility

Senior Member
While it may not be "homework" it has the whiff of a multistate-type question. And, while I don't think there is enough information to "answer", I go with Sherlock Holmes' wisdom on this:

"Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth."

I bet it's not the one the OP is thinking of.

If you try with each, I'll guide.
 

tranquility

Senior Member
All of the others are not correct, leaving B. I'd like to know what the person is agreeing with in B, but, using basic multi-state strategy of eliminating what cannot be, we must go with B.

I am disappointed any attorney would choose another answer.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Ok, if we are going to play the game.




A) S/he does not like the inspection's outcome for any reason
Obviously not correct. Even the contract stated:
“satisfactory in the Offeror's reasonable discretion”.
the inclusion of "reasonable" would remove A as it allowed rescission for any reason, not just one that is reasonable.

B) The Offeree agrees that the results were unacceptable
whether the sellers agreed or not is irrelevant. It would make it easier for the buyer to reclaim his deposit but what the sellers accepted or believed has no impact on the ultimate result. In other words, in the practical sense, this would be the correct answer but in the technical sense, it does nothing for the claim.


C) The average person would find that the property's condition in unacceptable
this is probably what most people choose. By the use of the term "average" person, the inference that would also mean reasonable. The problem with this is, even with the reasonable man standard, the situation and facts involved alter who is considered to be the "reasonable man" and as such, how they would view any particular event. As explanation, let's assume the buyer is an engineer. He will see things that the average person most likely will not. If you had stated this was to consider a reasonable man standard, then c would have been acceptable, of course, presuming all parties signed off on the necessary releases.


D) The cost of repair would be greater than the deposit money
the cost of the repair is irrelevant to the contingency and the cost of the repair has no connection what so ever to the amount of the deposit.


So, B would allow the buyer to reclaim his deposit with less trouble but it in no means controls or affects what the buyer can do based on the contingency. So, as I said before, none of the above.
 

tranquility

Senior Member
A) Is not correct as the unfettered discretion shows no agreement. There is no contract if that is the interpretation. So while the offeror *could* walk away with the deposit, that cannot be the legal interpretation as it would void the contract from the inception. Unfettered discretion does not a contract make.

B) I will assume the agreement is with the offeror's opinion, but don't know. However, there is nothing which would inhibit the offeror walking if this happened.

C) The "*Offeror's* reasonable descretion" is not objective but subjective. It is not a reasonable person's test and this answer is, essentially, reasonable or average person's test.

D) While with D, we would have something which would clearly be acceptable to the courts if the offeror wanted to back out, since we have no information about if the offeror wanted to back out here, it cannot be the correct answer.

The black letter law usually comes up in portrait painting. If there is any ambiguity in the clause of "personal satisfaction" with the portrait or job or whatever, it will default to an objective standard. However, when the actual agreement leaves no doubt that only "honest" satisfaction is meant (which I think this does) the problem falls to two categories. One, which is very personal (like the portrait) and those which are more utilitarian (like acceptance of the report). In the former there is a tendency to unfettered discretion and in the latter a tendency to a more objective standard. But even with the unfettered discretion the courts will often reform.

From the Hornbook:

"One it is decided that personal satisfaction is called for, the issue is the good faith of the party to be satisfied. This does not mean that a party's statement must be accepted. Such an agreement would be illusory. The dissatisfaction must be actual and not merely simulated. Under the good faith test, plaintiff must show that the defendant is, in fact, satisfied with the performance rendered or tendered and has other motives for testifying to dissatisfaction." And then describes how the true state of mind can be determined and says how "bad faith" must be proven.

So, it cannot be A because of "any", it cannot be C because we have a clear indication of a personal satisfaction clause, it cannot be D because that test is not one of personal satisfaction--although it could be a test of the genuineness of the rejection, only B gives us the thought that the offeror is not satisfied as the offeree agrees. But, even if that assumption is not true, if the offeror walks with the deposit, the offeree has waived the condition and would be estopped from asserting it in court.
 

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