Malus v. Hager

Kenneth and Jean Hager (defendants) contracted to sell their house to Richard and Rosemary Malus (plaintiffs), contingent on the Maluses securing a loan commitment within 45 days, with a separate provision letting the Hagers keep the down payment if the Maluses failed to close. The Maluses did obtain a loan commitment within the 45-day window, but four days before closing, Mr. Malus unexpectedly lost his job and the bank withdrew its commitment; by then, the Hagers had already moved into temporary quarters and it took four months to sell their house to a different buyer, incurring significant extra moving and storage costs, and they refused to return the down payment. Relying on earlier precedent, the trial court granted the Maluses summary judgment, and the Hagers appealed.