Linster v. Regan

This case involved the narrow question of the right of a defaulting vendee to recover back money paid on the contract and withheld by the vendee as forfeited, absent any governing contract provision.

The plaintiff, Joan Linster, brought this suit for the return of a $500 deposit paid by her to the defendant, as a down payment under the terms of a written offer to purchase the defendant’s restaurant business for $8,500. The plaintiff was to have paid an additional $4,000 when the transaction was closed, and the balance of $4,000 on terms agreeable to both of the parties. The offer to purchase…