Selover, Bates & Co. v. Walsh

Background

A Minnesota seller made a contract in Minneapolis to sell land located in Colorado. The contract required punctual installment payments at the seller’s Minneapolis office and said time was “material and essential.” It allowed the seller to cancel and declare the contract void if payments were not made punctually, to forfeit sums paid, and to retake possession without court process. The buyer’s original purchaser (Walsh) defaulted by failing to pay taxes, the seller declared the contract ended, sold the land to others, and the buyer who received Walsh’s interest sued in Minnesota and won damages.

Reasoning

The Court considered whether Minnesota’s law that requires thirty days’ written notice before a seller may cancel a land-sale contract violated the seller’s rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court said the dispute was a personal contract action governed by Minnesota law, not a direct claim to the Colorado land, so Minnesota’s statute could apply. It rejected arguments that the statute deprived the seller of property without due process or denied equal protection, and therefore affirmed the state court’s judgment for the buyer.

Real world impact

This ruling means sellers who make contracts in Minnesota—even for land located in another state—face limits before they can forfeit contracts and must give notice and time to cure defaults. Buyers in similar contracts may obtain damages and have a chance to comply during the thirty-day notice period. The decision upholds state power to regulate contract remedies and affirms the Minnesota court’s damage award.