Schrenko v. Regnante

537 N.E.2d 1261 (1989)

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.

Schrenko v. Regnante

Massachusetts Court of Appeals
537 N.E.2d 1261 (1989)

JW

Facts

Michael and Joanna Schrenko (plaintiffs) contracted to buy a house from James and Jean Mazareas (defendants) for $360,000. Pursuant to the purchase agreement, the Schrenkos paid a $16,000 deposit. The contract stated that if the Schrenkos breached the agreement, then the Mazareas could choose to keep the deposit as liquidated damages if the Mazareas wanted to do so. Ultimately, the Schrenkos did not go through with the purchase. A week later, the Mazareas sold the house to someone else for $385,000. After that, the Mazareas’ attorneys, Theodore Regnante and other members of his law firm (defendants), sent the Schrenkos a letter saying that the Mazareas were both keeping the deposit as liquidated damages and possibly seeking further damages resulting from the Schrenkos’ breach. The Schrenkos sued the Mazareas and the lawyers to recover the deposit. The Mazareas claimed nearly $19,000 in damages from the Schrenkos’ breach. This damage estimate ignored the fact the Mazareas made an extra $25,000 from the later, substitute sale of the house. The trial court did not consider anything that happened after the Schrenkos’ breach and ruled in favor of the Mazareas and the lawyers. The Schrenkos appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Fine, 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 804,000 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 804,000 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 804,000 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