Vallas

The court, sitting without a jury, found a property owner breached his contract to sell a large parcel of coastal property to an investment company. The court, however, refused to grant the buyer’s request for specific performance based on the court’s conclusion that monetary damages were adequate because the buyer’s primary motivation was to quickly turn the property for a profit. We hold the court erred in refusing to grant specific performance on this basis. The law generally presumes real property is unique and that the breach of an agreement to transfer property cannot be adequately relieved by pecuniary compensation. The seller here did not overcome this presumption merely because the buyer’s purpose in purchasing the property was to earn profits from developing and/or reselling the property.

INTRODUCTION

Real Estate Analytics, LLC (REA), contracted with Theodore Tee Valias (Valias) to purchase 14.13 acres of land in northern San Diego County. After Valias cancelled the contract, REA brought a breach of contract action seeking specific performance. Valias cross-complained against REA and two individuals involved in the attempted purchase. After a court trial, the…