Crawley v. Hathaway
Illinois Appellate Court
721 N.E.2d 1208 (1999)
- Written by Carolyn Strutton, JD
Facts
Mark Hathaway (defendant) agreed to sell land to Douglas Crawley (plaintiff). Hathaway and Crawley signed a hand-written contract that specified the sale would include about 100 acres made up of pasture, timber, and tillable ground. After agreeing to the sale, Hathaway commissioned a survey and directed the surveyor to plot out the piece of land that Hathaway and Crawley had agreed would make up the sale. After the survey revealed that the land in question actually amounted to 127 acres, Hathaway decided he did not want to complete the contract with Crawley and instead listed the land for a higher price with a real estate broker. Crawley sued Hathaway for specific performance to force the sale. Hathaway filed a motion for summary judgment, alleging that the jurisdiction’s statute of frauds prevented the enforcement of the contract because the contract failed to include a sufficient description of the land. The lower court granted summary judgment to Hathaway. Crawley appealed, alleging that the statute of frauds did not bar the contract.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (McCullough, J.)
Dissent (Steigmann, J.)
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