This ease is on appeal from the October 24, 2006, final order of the Circuit Court of Harrison County which dismissed, with prejudice, the real estate sales transaction claims of Elizabeth Sedlock and Jason Banish (hereinafter referred to collectively as “Appellants”) against Marsha Ann Felton, 1 Jean Hollandsworth 2 and Double H. Realty, Inc. (hereinafter referred to collectively as “Ap-pellees”). 3 The dismissal was sought pursuant to West Virginia Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Finding that no duty was imposed upon real estate agents under the circumstances presented, the lower court granted the dismissаl, with prejudice. Upon concluding our review of the record in light of the briefs, arguments and relevant law, the action of the lower court is affirmed.
I. Factual and Procedural Background
The real estate transaction on which this suit is based occurred in 2004. On February 18, 2004, Ms. Hollandsworth obtained an exclusive listing agreement to sell Ms. Sed-loek’s 4 home in Nutter Fort, West Virginia. Ms. Felton showed the Sedloek-Banish home to Joann and Thomas Moyle. Thereafter on March 29, 2004, Ms. Felton drafted a contract for the sale and purchase of the Sed-lock-Banish house to the Moyles. According to the order from which this appeal is taken, the contract included a conditional clause making performance “contingent upon the seller locating acceptable housing.” 5
On June 26, 2004, Appellants entered into a contract to purchase another home owned by David A. Romano and Cathy Joey Romano 6 located in Clarksburg, West Virginia. *550 The contract for the Clarksburg home was expressly conditioned upon the “buyers clоsing on the sale of their home at 601 Indiana Ave., Nutter Fort, WV 26301 prior to the closing date on 339 Worley Ave., Clarksburg, WV 26301.”
Within the statement of facts of the order of dismissal, the lower court noted that the Moyles’ offer to purchase Appellants’ Nutter Fort home had expired 7 at the time the Romano contract was entered. Thе Moyles executed a new offer to purchase Appellants’ Nutter Fort home on July 5, 2004, by way of a second “Contract for Sale and Purchase” drafted by Ms. Felton. The contingency clause regarding Appellants locating acceptable housing was not in the July 5, 2004, contract. The record reveals that Ms. Sed-lock signed the July 5, 2004, sales contract.
On or about August 19, 2004, the Romanos notified them real estate salesperson that they would not sell their house to Appellants despite the June 26, 2004, contract. Appellants chose not to attempt to enforce the Romano contract at that time since they decided to remain in the Nutter Fort home. However, the Moyles enforced their July 5, 2004, contract to purchase the Nutter Fort property and thereby caused Appellants to move from the premises.
Appellants filed a complaint against the Moyles, Ms. Felton, Ms. Hollandsworth, Double H. Realty, Inc., and the Romanos in the Circuit Court of Harrison County on August 18, 2006. On September 15, 2006, Appellees moved the lower court to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure. The circuit court granted the motion to dismiss following a hearing. This Court granted the petition for appeal of the dismissal by order entered September 13, 2007.
II. Standard of Review
All claims brought agаinst Appellees were dismissed in this ease because the lower court found that the complaint failed to state any claim upon which relief could be granted. In such circumstances, “[ajppellate review of a circuit court's order granting a motion to dismiss a complaint is
de novo.”
Syl. Pt. 2,
State ex rel McGraw v. Scott Runyan Pontiac-Buick,
III. Discussion
Appellants maintain that the lower court erred in dismissing their claims against the real estate Appellees for breach of contract, negligence and fraud. All of the claims centered on the acts or omissions of Ms. Felton as the real estate salesperson. Ms. Hol-landsworth and Double H. Realty were made parties to the suit based on respondeat superior and agency law principles.
At the heart of Appellants’ claims is the omission from the July 5, 2004, contract of the condition contained in the March 29, 2004, contract essentially stating that the sale of the Nutter Fort house was contingent upon Appellants locating acceptable housing. As explained in the complaint, the negligence claim was based on Ms. Felton breaching a duty under the Real Estate License Act by *551 failing to include the conditional language in the July 5, 2004, contract. Similarly, the cause of action for fraud was explained in the complaint as Ms. Felton materially and falsely representing to Ms. Sedlock that this contingency language was included in the July 5, 2004, contract. The breach of contract claim is founded on Ms. Felton not fulfilling her verbal agreement with Ms. Sedlock to include this conditional language in the contract. Wе will address each of these interrelated claims in turn.
Appellants maintained below, as they do here, that Appellees were under a general duty 8 to include the desired conditional language under the express terms of West Virginia Code § 30-40-26(f) (2002) (2007 Repl. VoL). West Virginia Code § 30-40-26(f) is within the Real Estate License Act and states: “Every liсensee shall make certain that all the terms and conditions of a real estate transaction are contained in any contract prepared by the licensee.”
In the October 24, 2006, dismissal order, the lower court appropriately noted that this statutory provision could not be read in a vacuum sо as to impose a blanket duty on real estate sales people to include any and all possible terms and conditions in a real estate sales contract. The lower court particularly noted that:
Section 30 — 40—26(f) of the West Virginia Code must be read with the remainder of Article 30 of the West Virginia Code, including Section 30 — 40—5(a)—(b), which states that activities normally performed by a lawyer are not included in the capacity of a real estate salesperson. See W.Va. Code § 30-40-5(a)-(b) (2006)[sic],
We further note that the significance of the contingency clause to Appellants in light of the circumstances may not have been apparent to Ms. Fеlton at the time she drafted the sales agreement. Under the facts presented in the complaint, Appellants had located acceptable housing at the time the July 5, 2004, contract was signed, so the contingency had been met. If the contingency clause were still desired by Appellants, they could have аmended the contract before signing it. While Appellants contend that Ms. Felton told Ms. Sedlock at the time of signing the July 5, 2004, contract that the contingency clause was in the contract, we find no assertion in the complaint that Ms.Sedlock was operating under any disability when she signed the contract so as to render her inсapable of reading and comprehending its terms before signing.
This Court has clearly stated that “in the absence of extraordinary circumstances, the failure to read a contract before signing it does not excuse a person from being bound by its terms.”
Reddy v. Community Health Found. of Man,
Much like the situations presented in Reddy and Sine, Appellants’ assertions in the ease sub judice do not support the presence of extraordinary circumstances which would *552 obviate their obligation to read the сontract before signing it. Nothing in the complaint indicated that Ms. Sedloek and Mr. Banish were not of mature age and adequate intellect to understand the contents of the contract, or that the contract was written in such small print or in such a manner as to deceive anyone of its inclusions or omissions. The contract at issue is a short document that includes on the front page a paragraph numbered twelve, entitled “ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.” In that section, two contingencies are hand printed on the face of the contract and are clearly dis-cernable. In smaller print at the bottom of the first page, Ms. Sedloek initialed the blank line following the statement: “Seller has read this page.” Ms. Sedloek also initialed page two of this contract in the section designated “ACCEPTANCE,” which contains two paragraphs reading:
21. Are you, as Seller, relying upon any oral statements or representations made by the Purchaser, a real estate broker or agent that are not in this contract. [Ms. Sedloek answered in the negative by initialing the line following “No.”]
22. Seller acknowledges that he/she has read and understands the provisions of this agreement and agrees to sell herein described property at the price, terms, and conditions set forth. Seller acknowledges recеipt of copy of contract.
There is no suggestion of forgery of Ms. Sedlock’s signature or that someone initialed or signed the contract for Ms. Sedloek.
In addition to our examination of the contract, we further note that no allegation is made by Appellants that they attempted to insert the contingenсy clause about locating acceptable housing before Ms. Sedloek signed the contract. Nor is there any indication that Ms. Sedloek was coerced, pressured or otherwise forced into signing the contract as it was presented to her. Given these particular circumstances, Ms. Sedlock’s failurе to read the contract before accepting regrettably appears to be due to her own “fault and negligence.”
Sine,
With regai'd to the fraud claim, Appellants maintain that Ms. Felton misrepresented that the contingency clause about locating acceptable housing was in the sales contrаct she prepared. No assertion, however, is made that Ms. Felton tried to hide the omission of the clause or otherwise thwarted efforts of Appellants to discover the omissions in the contract which would overcome their obligation to read the document before signing it.
Without a showing of fraud or mistake, the breach of contract claim asserted in the complaint also is not actionable. The breach of contract claim is based on Ms. Felton’s oral promise, made prior to or contemporaneously with the execution of the contract, that she would include the contingency clause abоut locating acceptable housing in the sales contract. As stated in syllabus point two of
Kanawha Banking & Trust Company v. Gilbert,
An unambiguous written contract entered into as the result of verbal or written negotiations will, in the absence of fraud or mistake, be conclusively presumed to contain the final agreement of the parties to it, and such contract may not be varied, contradicted or explained by extrinsic evidence of conversations had or statements made contemporaneously with or prior to its execution.
Equally relevant to the present case is syllabus point one of Gilbert, which states;
Extrinsic evidence of statements and declarations оf the parties to an unambiguous written contract occurring contemporaneously with or prior to its execution is inadmissible to contradict, add to, detract from, vary or explain the terms of such contract, in the absence of a showing of illegality, fraud, duress, mistake or insufficiency of consideration.
Even if all of the allegations in the complaint are taken as true, Appellants claims can not proceed because Appellants can prove no set of facts in support of their claims which would entitle them to relief
See
Syl. Pt. 3,
Chapman v. Kane Transfer Co., Inc.,
IV. Conclusion
Based upon the fоregoing, the October 24, 2006, order of the Circuit Court of Harrison County dismissing, with prejudice, the claims against the real estate defendants below below is affirmed.
Affirmed.
Notes
. Ms. Hollandsworth was a licensed West Virginia real estate broker and an officer of Double H. Realty, Inc. at the time various events involving this suit occurred.
. The order was made immediately appealable under Rule 54(b) of the West Virginia Rules of Civil Procedure.
. It is not entirely clear from the record if only Ms. Sedlock owned the house or if ownership was shared with Mr. Banish.
. A copy of the March 29, 2004, contract is not in the certified record before us. None of the parties contest that the phrase recited in the dismissal order was part of the March 29, 2004, contract.
. The Romanos are not parties to this appeal.
. Appellants’ complaint relates that the March 29, 2004, real estate contract “expired on or about June 13, 2005."
. Appellants also recited a list of specific duties in their complaint which they contended the West Virginia Real Estate Cоmmission imposes on all licensees. No source was indicated for the list and the exhibits referred to in support of the list were not included in the record. The recited list of duties does not appear in the statutes governing licensure (W.Va.Code Chapter 30, Article 40) or the regulations promulgated by the West Virginia Real Estate Commission in effect at the time relevant to this case. See W.Va. 174 C.S.R 1 (2003). The current regulations also do not contain such a list of duties. W.Va. 174 C.S.R. 1 (2007).