Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Louisiana

I could not buy a house and now I am being sues.

I signed a purchasing agreement to purchase a house. I signed the paperwork on 12/3/005 with a closing date of 1/9/06. On 12/26/05 my fianc�es mother passed away leaving us with the responsibility to care for her handicap father who lives out of state. I notified my realtor on 12/27/05 that we would not be buying the house. She told me I should reconsider but that she understood. Then today on 1/6/05 she called and told me the home owners were suing me to force me to buy the house based on specific performance. Is there anything I can do? My fianc�e is not on the paperwork for the house but is listed as additional source of income on my loan application.


Asked on 1/05/06, 7:48 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
James Morton Taggart Morton

Re: I could not buy a house and now I am being sues.

Generally speaking, unless the Purchase Agreement (contract) has a provision or provisions allowing you to terminate the contract for inspections, title work, financing or a similar contingency that hasn't been timely satisfied, you may be in trouble because you signed the contract. There is a long line of cases in Louisiana that states that signatures to an obligation are not mere ornaments. That basically means that if you sign a contract, you will likely be bound by the terms of it. Therefore, it is possible that you can't get out of the contract, and the seller may have a right to sue you for specific performance. In order to give definitive advice, however, an attorney would need to review the contract.

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Answered on 1/06/06, 5:44 pm


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