Madsen v. Anderson

STEWART, Justice:

This is an appeal from a judgment enforcing a forfeiture clause in a Utah uniform real estate contract. The trial court ruled that the forfeiture clause was triggered by the buyers’ failure to reimburse the sellers for their payment of property taxes on the subject real estate. We reverse.

In 1975 defendants Christian and Linda Anderson (the buyers) executed a uniform real estate contract for the purchase of a home and lot in Alpine, Utah, from plaintiffs Dale and Bobby Madsen (the sellers). At the time, the buyers were living out of state and were hoping for a job transfer to…