Sassower v. Blumenfeld

878 N.Y.S.2d 602 (2009)

Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
S
From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Sassower v. Blumenfeld

New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division
878 N.Y.S.2d 602 (2009)

  • Written by Lauren Petersen, JD

Facts

David Blumenfeld (defendant) entered into an agreement with Michael Sassower (plaintiff) to purchase a property in New Hartford, New York, for $1.8 million. Upon signing the contract, Blumenfeld paid a deposit of $180,000. Under the terms of the agreement, Sassower was entitled to retain the deposit as liquidated damages if Blumenfeld defaulted on the purchase. Additionally, the agreement set the closing date as December 12, 2008. Blumenfeld was allowed to adjourn the closing date to no later than December 31, 2008. The agreement indicated that in regard to any adjournments, time was of the essence. On December 10, 2008, Blumenfeld requested an adjournment of the closing date. On December 11, Blumenfeld learned that he had lost nearly all his financial assets as a victim of a fraudulent scheme perpetrated by a well-known investor. On December 24, 2008, Blumenfeld terminated his purchase agreement with Sassower and demanded that Sassower return the deposit. Sassower sought a declaratory judgment that he was entitled to retain Blumenfeld’s deposit as liquidated damages because Blumenfeld failed to close by December 31, 2008. Blumenfeld argued that his performance should be excused on the basis of impossibility. Sassower moved for summary judgment, and Blumenfeld filed counterclaims.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (DeStefano, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 802,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools—such as Yale, Berkeley, and Northwestern—even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 802,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 802,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Contracts

Key Terms