Ferguson v. Caspar
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
359 A.2d 17 (1976)
Caspar (defendant) contracted to sell her home to the Fergusons (plaintiffs), with the contract requiring full cash payment at closing and guaranteeing no outstanding municipal code violations. The Fergusons learned before closing that Caspar had received a code-violation notice and secretly obtained a repair estimate, but said nothing to her. At closing, Caspar deposited title in escrow and the Fergusons deposited a check for the full price — but as the parties were leaving, the Fergusons instructed the escrow agent to withhold an amount equal to their repair estimate until Caspar fixed the violations. The escrow agent then refused to release title, and the Fergusons sued for specific performance; the trial court ruled for Caspar because the Fergusons had not tendered the full cash price as required.
Whether a buyer who has not fulfilled all conditions of a sales contract — including tendering the full purchase price — is entitled to have an escrowed deed pass to them.