English Speaking Union (New York) Inc. v. Payson

This is a consolidation of two actions, in the first of which English Speaking Union (New York) Inc. (Union), as plaintiff seeks specific performance by the defendant Payson of a written agreement by which he undertook to purchase a parcel of real estate in the city of New York, and in the second of which Betty Schwartz, as Payson’s assignee, sues to recover $25,000 paid by Payson on account of the purchase price of the parcel.

On December 3, 1956, the Union, a nonprofit membership corporation, agreed to sell to Payson, a real estate operator, the premises then occupied by it at 19-21 East…