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Property Law Keyed to Cribbet
Oldfield v. Stoeco Homes, Inc
Facts
In 1951 Ocean City held title to a large number of undeveloped lots situated in a swamp, and divisible into two segments one being the eastern side of Bay Avenue and the other being the western side of Bay Avenue. In 1951 both of the tracts of land were advertised for public sale to the highest bidder, except for 226 lots of which the city wished to remain owners, and that certain terms and conditions incident to the sale were set forth. The only bidder was Defendant Stoeco Homes, and the winning bids were $10,525 for the eastern lots and $100,000 for the western lots. The sales were confirmed by municipal resolution on February 16, 1951, and the final settlement was made on June 29, 1951. The deed contained provisions that are in dispute herein. Specifically, the deed called for all the lots, inclusive of those retained by the city, to be graded and filled to the existing levels established for the city and that such filling was to be done within one year of the deed. The cit y reserved the right to “change or modify any restriction, condition or other requirement” in the deed, and that a failure to comply with the “covenants and conditions” regarding the filling and grading within one year may cause the title of the lands or lots in violation of the provisions to revert back to the city. By June 29, 1953, one year later, Defendant had still not completed a substantial portion of the filling. In February of 1953, the city, wishing to have the land developed rather than take back possession as is, passed a resolution extending the time for performance on certain lots until December 31, 1954, and then in subsequent resolutions, other lots were subject to extensions until January 1, 1958, and January 1, 1960, respectively. Certain residents and taxpayers of Ocean City instituted suit against Defendant Stoeco Homes, Inc., desiring to have the resolutions of the city extending time for performance of the filling declared invalid and seeking to have the lands ow ned by the Defendants pursuant to the 1951 sale forfeited and returned to the city. At the lower court the Defendants prevailed. Plaintiffs appealed.
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