Doctorman v. Schroeder
Court of Appeals of New Jersey
114 A. 810 (1921)
After Doctorman (plaintiff) missed the original December 19 payment deadline for her real estate purchase, the parties negotiated an extension expressly making time of the essence for a new 2:30 p.m. December 20 deadline, but Doctorman arrived with the remaining balance roughly half an hour late; Schroeder (defendant), though still waiting at the agreed location, refused the late payment and declared the agreement void, and the trial court dismissed Doctorman's specific-performance suit.
Whether, under New Jersey law, when a contract specifies a deadline for performance and expressly states that time is of the essence, a party offering to perform after the expiration of the deadline is entitled to specific performance by the other party.