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Contracts Keyed to Kunz
Lucy v. Zehmer
Citation:
84 S.E.2d 516 (Va. Ct. App. 1954)ProfessorMelissa A. Hale
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Facts
W. O. Lucy had been attempting to purchase the Ferguson Farm from A. H. Zehmer for many years, yet he was unsuccessful in convincing him. On December 20, 1952, Lucy entered the Ye Olde Virginia restaurant with a bottle of whiskey in order to persuade Zehmer to sell him the farm. The two discussed the farm for 40 minutes, after which Lucy stated “I bet you wouldn’t sell it to me for $50,000 and Zehmer said he would. Lucy then made Zehmer write it down, so Zehmer wrote on a restaurant check “I do hereby agree to sell to W. O. Lucy the Ferguson Farm for $50,000 complete.” Lucy made him rewrite the agreement with the word “we” instead of “I” and he made Mrs. Zehmer sign it too. He offered $5 consideration in order to bind the deal, but the Zehmer refused, saying that it was unnecessary because “you got the agreement there signed by both of us.” The next day, W. O. Lucy sold half of his portion of the land to his brother J. C. Lucy, and the following Monday, hired a lawyer to inspect thetitle. On January 2, 1953 he wrote Zehmer a letter stating that he was ready to pay the purchase price and close the deal and Zehmer replied by letter that the agreement was made in jest and there was no contract. Lucy claims to have a valid contract, Zehmer claims it was a joke and that he was “high as a Georgia pine” at the time.
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