Question

Judy Olsen, Kristy Johnston, and their mother, Joyce Johnston, owned seventy-eight acres of real estate property on Eagle Creek in Meagher County, Montana. When Joyce died, she left her interest in the property to Kristy. Kristy wrote to Judy, offering to buy Judy’s interest or to sell her own interest to Judy. The letter said to "please respond to Bruce Townsend." In a letter to Kristy, not to Bruce, Judy accepted Kristy’s offer to sell her interest. By that time, however, Kristy had made the same offer to sell her interest to their brother Dave, and he had accepted. Did Judy and Kristy have an enforceable binding contract? Or did Kristy’s offer specifying one exclusive mode of acceptance mean that Judy’s reply was not effective?

Answer 1

Yes , Judy and Kristy have an enforceable binding contract

Explanation:

Kristy Johnston, Judy Olsen, and Joyce Johnston, their mother, owned real estate as common buyers. After Joyce died, she left Kristy her one-third share in the house. Kristy sent Judy a letter in 2009 promising Judy to purchase or sell Judy's share in the property.  

Judy accepted the sale bid from Kristy. Kristy then tried to refuse Judy's approval and to cancel her bid for sale. Judy lodged a Kristy lawsuit.

The court granted the summary judgment to Judy finding that a contract had been drawn up between the letters exchanged between Judy and Kristy which satisfied the frauds ' status. The Supreme Court ruled that the district court decided out that an enforceable arrangement was established by exchanging letters from the parties.