Secor v. Knight
Utah Supreme Court
716 P.2d 790 (1986)
Relevant factsFree
The Knights (defendants) bought a subdivision lot under an earnest-money agreement silent on any restrictive covenants, but by closing, single-family-use restrictions had been recorded, and their eventual warranty deed referenced "restrictions of record"; after the Knights built and rented out a basement apartment in violation of those restrictions, subdivision residents (plaintiffs) sued for an injunction, and the Knights argued the merger doctrine's fraud and collateral-rights exceptions should preserve their earlier, unrestricted earnest-money agreement.
IssueFree
Whether, under the merger doctrine, the provisions of an underlying sale contract are extinguished upon delivery and acceptance of the deed.