Burt's Spirit Shop, Inc. v. Ridgway

The principal issue in this appeal is the enforceability of notes and mortgages arising out of a sale of a business whose profitability is impaired by the death of a key employee. The plaintiff, Burt’s Spirit Shop, Inc., brought an action against the defendants Edward S. Ridgway and Janina M. Ridgway to foreclose mortgages securing a note executed by Janina Ridgway. A second, contemporaneous, action by the plaintiff sought to collect on this and another note executed by her. In counterclaims in these actions, the defendants asserted that the untimely death of Burton Wolk allowed them to…