Hofeldt v. Mehling

KONENKAMP, Justice.

[¶ 1.] In a land sale, after the buyer made the required down payment, the seller failed, in violation of the contract, to deliver clear title for nearly five years. During this time, the buyer was permitted to farm the land and obtain subsidy payments for it. He paid no rent and kept all the subsidies. When the seller finally delivered clear title and the sale closed, the seller sued the buyer to obtain rent and subsidies, claiming that the buyer had been unjustly enriched. The circuit court ruled that the buyer had not been unjustly enriched because he only received what…