Contracts Keyed to Farnsworth
Masterson v. Sine
Facts
Plaintiffs owned a ranch as tenants in common, which they conveyed to Defendant by a grant deed. Plaintiffs reserved an option to purchase the ranch on or before a date certain for the same amount of money paid by Defendants plus their depreciation value of any improvements Defendants may add to the property. Subsequently, Dallas was adjudged bankrupt, and his trustee in bankruptcy and Rebecca brought a declaratory relief action to establish their right to exercise the option. At trial, the Court refused to admit extrinsic evidence to show that the parties wanted to keep the property in the Masterson family and therefore the option was personal and could not be exercised by the trustee in bankruptcy.
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