Willard v. Tayloe
Supreme Court of the United States
This was a suit in equity for the specific performance of a contract for the sale of certain real property situated in the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, and adjoining the hotel owned by the complainant, Willard, and known as Willard’s Hotel.
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This was a suit in equity for the specific performance of a contract for the sale of certain real property situated in the city of Washington, in the District of Columbia, and adjoining the hotel owned by the complainant, Willard, and known as Willard’s Hotel. The facts out of which the case arose were as follows: In April, 1854, the defendant leased to the complainant the property in question, which was generally known in Washington as “ The Mansion House,” for the period of ton years from the 1st of Ma}' following, at the yearly rent of twelve hundred dollars. The lease contained a covenant…
1Opinion of the CourtJustice Field
The covenant in the lease giving the right or option to" purchase the premises, was in the nature of a continuing offer .to sell. It was a proposition extending through the period of ten years, and being under seal must be regarded as made upon a sufficient'consideration.,and, therefore, one from which the defendant was not at liberty to recede. When accepted by the complainant by his notice to the defendant, a contract of sale between the parties was completed.* This contract is plain and certain in its terms, and - *565in its nature and in the circumstances attending its execution appears to be…
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