Lind Building Corp. v. Pacific Bellevue Developments

Pacific Bellevue Developments (PBD) (defendant) agreed to sell real estate to Lind Building Corporation (Lind) (plaintiff) for over $4 million; Lind initially deposited $20,000 into escrow, with the original contract providing PBD could keep "the deposit" as liquidated damages if the agreement terminated. The parties later extended the closing deadline and Lind made additional escrow deposits totaling $250,000 overall. The transaction failed to close, and PBD kept the full $250,000; PBD later resold the property to a third party for $5 million, $1 million more than Lind's agreed price. Lind sued for the deposit's return, and the trial court held PBD could keep the full $250,000 as liquidated damages; Lind appealed.