134 Ga. 19 | Ga. | 1910
E. L. Jarman brought suit against A. C. West-brook, prajdng a judgment for damages for breach of an alleged contract of sale of land. The petition was amended by adding a prayer for specific performance of the contract. The material allegations of the petition are: that A. O. Westbrook is the owner of a certain described tract of land known as the Baldwin place; and that on November 17th, 1905, he wrote a letter to the plaintiff, proposing to sell him the land. The letter is as follows: “Albany, Ga., November 17th, 1905. Mr. E. L. Jarman, Covington, Ga. My Dear Sir: — Thanks for yours 16th inst., in re of selling my ‘Baldwin Place,’ containing 1,050 acres. You are mistaken about me ever offering it at $11.00 per acre. I have had more than that offered time and again. I did say, however, that I would sell at about what it cost me to improve the place, viz., $12.50 per acre, $13,125.00, on easy terms, and will take that for it, no less, if deal
There was no error in dismissing the petition. The letter is but a voluntary proposal to sell a tract of land at a given price, if the offer be accepted within a specified time. So long as the offer was not withdrawn' Jarman had the right, within the period of time-limited for acceptance, to tender the amount stipulated as the-purchase-price and receive a conveyance of the property from
Nor. will the parol agreement that the parties should meet at Milledgeville on a day subsequent to the time limited in the written option, and there close the trade on terms different from those stated in the written option, entitle the plaintiff to specific performance. The statute of frauds requires that a contract for the sale of an interest in lands shall be in writing, and any modification of a written contract, required by law to be in writing, must also be in writing in order to be valid. Hawkins v. Studdard, 132 Ga. 265 (63 S. E. 852).
Judgment on main hill affirmed; cross-bill dismissed.