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Benya v. Stevens & Thompson Paper Co.

Vermont Supreme Court
143 Vt. 521 (1983)

Written by Noah Lewis, JD

Facts

Vincent Benya (plaintiff) wanted to purchase 5,000 acres of timber land from Stevens and Thompson Paper Company, Inc. (S&T) (defendant). On September 24, 1979, Landvest, Inc., a real-estate-sales company, prepared a purchase-and-sales agreement that Benya signed and sent to S&T. S&T’s attorney made the following changes to the agreement: (1) deposit doubled from $5,000 to $10,000; (2) minimal adjustment of the per-acre price; (3) cash at closing reduced by $5,000; (4) mortgage percentage increased from 9 percent to 10 percent; (5) mortgage-commencement date moved back with quarterly, not annual payments; (6) deed type changed from warranty to special warranty. S&T’s vice president initialed each change, signed the agreement, and mailed it back to Landvest. Benya objected to the new deposit amount. Landvest spoke to S&T’s attorney and prepared a new agreement that reduced the deposit back to $5,000 and postponed the date of the first quarterly payment for one year. On October 19, Benya signed the document and in early November 1979, sent it to S&T for approval. S&T never executed it because it had sold the land on November 7. Benya brought a breach-of-contract complaint. Following a bench trial, the court found the September 24 agreement binding because both parties signed it and the terms were substantially the same. The court awarded Benya $300,000 in damages and $50,000 in punitive damages. S&T appealed.

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