Question

1. Jim and Donna Stoner contract to sell their house in Rochester, Michigan, to Clem and Clara Hovenkamp. Clara thinks that the decorative chandelier in the entryway is lovely and gives the house an immediate appeal. The chandelier was a gift from Donna’s mother, “to enhance the entryway” and provide “a touch of beauty” for Jim and Donna’s house. Clem and Clara assume that the chandelier will stay, and nothing specific is mentioned about the chandelier in the contract for sale. Clem and Clara are shocked when they move in and find the chandelier is gone. Have Jim and Donna breached their contract of sale?

2. Blaine Goodfellow rents a house from Associated Properties in Abilene, Texas. He is there for two years, and during that time he installs a ceiling fan, custom-builds a bookcase for an alcove on the main floor, and replaces the screening on the front and back doors, saving the old screening in the furnace room. When his lease expires, he leaves, and the bookcase remains behind. Blaine does, however, take the new screening after replacing it with the old screening, and he removes the ceiling fan and puts back the light. He causes no damage to Associated Properties’ house in doing any of this. Discuss who is the rightful owner of the screening, the bookcase, and the ceiling fan after the lease expires.

Answer 1

1) In the given case, it is said that Jim and Donna contract to sell throt house and Clara, who is the buyer thinks that the chandelier which is hanging in the house would remain. But when they move in, they do not find it. As nothing is being mentioned about the chandelier in the agreement and also nothing has been said by Clem and Clara while making the deal, it cannot be considered as a breach of the contract of sale as the contract contains the house and the equipment if any that finds a mention in the same. As it is left over without any mention, it is not included in the sale contract and can never be considered as a sale commodity in the process. But, this is more of an ethical dilemma wherein those who sell the same should have mentioned that the particular commodity would not be available and hence not included in the contract. From the side of the buyer, they should have made sure that they communicated the same with the seller as to what all they would require to preserve. Since both have failed to do so, it does not come under the contract.

2) In the given case, it is said that Blaine Goodfellow has rented a house and has installed for himself certain commodities like ceiling fan, book-case, replacement of screening etc. As he leaves, he is not identified to have made any losses to the existing house, but takes away whatever he has installed by himself leaving behind the book-shelf there. Now, as the lease would expire, whatever there was at the beginning and mentioned in the contract only would remain the property of the original owner and whatever modifications that have been made are not a part of it. Since Blaine has taken away only the components that have been added by himself, he is the right owner of the same provided he does not make any damage to the existing framework in the removal process.