[1] Contracts—Sale of Land—Statute of Frauds.—A contract for the sale of land is invalid unless the same or some note or memorandum thereof is in writing and subscribed by the party to be charged.

[2] Id.—Escrow—Necessity for Binding Contract.—Before a proposed escrow may have any validity there must be a binding contract in existence between the parties to such escrow.

[3] Id.—Deposit of Bonds With Title 'Company—Absence of Meeting of Minds—Subsequent Instructions—Liquidated Damages. Where the vendor and the vendee of certain real property- orally agree that certain bonds shall be deposited with a title insurance company to be forfeited to the vendor if the sale shall not be consummated, and the bonds are so deposited, but there is no “meeting of the minds” of the parties on the question of the terms of the proposed contract of sale other than the inchoate agreement as to the forfeiture of the bonds, and thereafter the parties give new written instructions to the title company, but such instructions contain no mention of the bonds in connection with their forfeiture to the vendor as liquidated damages or otherwise, the vendor is not entitled to such bonds upon the failure of the vendee to consummate the deal.

[4] lb.—Liquidated Damages — Invalid Contract. — Assuming that the parties had entered into a written agreement embracing all the terms of the proposed sale, and that such agreement had contained a provision evidencing the intent of the parties that the bonds should be forfeited to the vendor upon the failure of the vendee to consummate the deal, under sections 1670 and 1671 of the Civil Code such provision for liquidated damages could not be enforced in the absence of pleading and proof that “from the nature of the case, it would be impracticable or extremely difficult to fix the actual damage.”

[5] Id.—Rental Value of Land — Evidence — Invalid Provision.— Assuming that there was a contract between the parties and that the intention was that the bonds were to be considered as rent for the use of the property in the event the sale was not completed, under sections 1670 and 1671 of the Civil Code such provision would not be enforceable, as it would have been a comparatively easy matter, after the termination of the transaction, by the vendor, following the failure of the vendee to consummate the deal, to determine what was the value of the use of the land while it was occupied by the vendee.