State of Rhode Island Department of Transportation v. Providence & Worcester Railroad Co.

674 A.2d 1239 (1996)

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State of Rhode Island Department of Transportation v. Providence & Worcester Railroad Co.

Rhode Island Supreme Court
674 A.2d 1239 (1996)

  • Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD
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Facts

Providence and Worcester Railroad Co. (P&W) (codefendant) sold a piece of property with abandoned railroad tracks on it to Promet Corp. (codefendant) for $100,000. Beforehand, P&W offered the state an option to purchase the property at that price, as required by Rhode Island law. The State of Rhode Island Department of Transportation (state) (plaintiff) responded with a letter stating that it accepted the offer as made at $100,000, except unlike Promet, it would not require removal of the tracks. But P&W moved up the closing time and sold the property to Promet an hour and a half before the state tendered its check for $100,000. The state sued P&W and Promet for the property. The trial court found the state’s letter was a valid acceptance of P&W’s offer, making the sale to Promet null and void, and ordered P&W to convey the property to the state. P&W appealed, arguing that the state’s letter was not a valid acceptance.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Lederberg, J.)

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