Tull v. Mister Donut Development Corp.

In this case the plaintiff Tull’s right to recover depends on whether, when the defendant Mister Donut Development Corporation (Mister Donut) decided not to lease Tull’s real estate, the parties were in a state of "imperfect negotiation” or whether their dealings had by that time added up to an offer and acceptance or course of conduct sufficient to bind Mister Donut. We conclude that the negotiations were inchoate and that Mister Donut is entitled to prevail.

We derive the facts of the case from a master’s subsidiary findings in a report which the judge adopted and on the basis of which he…