Opinion
570655/04.
Decided April 25, 2005.
Defendant appeals from a judgment of the Civil Court, New York County, entered December 22, 2004 after a nonjury trial (Geoffrey D. Wright, J.) in favor of plaintiff, and awarding him damages in the principal sum of $20,000.
Judgment entered December 22, 2004 (Geoffrey D. Wright, J.) affirmed, without costs.
PRESENT: HON. WILLIAM P. McCOOE, J.P., HON. PHYLLIS GANGEL-JACOB, HON. MARTIN SCHOENFELD, Justices.
The handwritten, single paragraph binder agreement executed by the parties in connection with the contemplated real property sale and omitted any reference to a closing date expressly stated that it was subject to the approval of the parties' attorneys. Moreover, it appears that the parties, after signing the binder, entered into further negotiations on the issue of whether the plaintiff buyer should be responsible for a broker's commission. In these circumstances, the trial court was warranted in concluding the binder was not a legally enforceable contract ( see Simmonds v. Marshall, 292 AD2d 592) and, there being no showing of bad faith on the part of plaintiff in causing the transaction to fail, in awarding plaintiff the return of his down payment ( see Scordus v. Route Brokers, 298 AD2d 573; Danton Constr. Corp. v. Bonner, 173 AD2d 759).
This constitutes the decision and order of the Court.