Cohn

On April 2, 1971, an escrow was entered into to transfer a conveyance of an alcoholic beverage license. The seller of the license was 6236 Santa Monica Blvd., Inc. (seller) and Cassjen, Inc. was the buyer (buyer). The escrow company involved was Gramercy Escrow Co. (Gramercy), and its escrow instructions provided that the escrow was to be conducted under the provisions of section 24074 (see fn. 5) of the California Business and Professions Code. The purchase price for the license was $11,500, with $500 to be paid in cash and the balance represented by a promissory note from buyer to seller, payable in installments commencing approximately one year after the close of escrow.

Prior to the date of the license transfer, plaintiff-appellant Alfred Cohn (Cohn) submitted to the escrow a claim in the aggregate sum of $11,302, consisting of $5,702 claimed to be due on fixtures purchased by seller (which fixtures were not transferred to the escrow), and $1,600 as alleged damages for loss of prospective profits under a cigarette machine vending agreement, and $4,000 as alleged damages for loss of prospective profits under another coin-machine agreement, with the proviso that an…