Virginia Jameson v. W. S. Wurtz

AREND, Justice. Virginia Jameson, plaintiff below, has appealed from an adverse decision of the superior court holding her equity as buyer under a long term real estate purchase contract forfeited because of her failure to comply with certain provisions of the contract. On September 18, 1953, the plaintiff and her husband, Dick Jameson, who had been forced to dispose of his engineering business in Fairbanks because of a disabling illness, entered into a contract with W. S. and Zella Wurtz, defendants below, to purchase from the latter a Fairbanks automobile service station for the purpose of an investment. 1 The total purchase price of the property was $47,000, of which amount the Jamesons made a down payment of $15,000 and were required to pay the balance in installments of $500 on the 15th day of each month, plus interest at the rate of six per cent per annum. The contract also required them to pay the taxes, provide insurance and keep the property free of liens. It made no provision for the giving of notice between the parties in any respect. The property was under lease to Gilstrap and Martin at the time the Jamesons purchased it. The lease yielded a monthly rental income of $750. Its expiration date was January 1, 1957.