CONTRACTS--SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE-DEFENSE OF HARDSHIP CAUSED BY DEFENDANT\u27S IMPROVEMENTS AFTER GIVING OPTION TO PURCHASE

In a lease of plaintiff\u27s corner lot to defendant corporation in 1941, the latter granted plaintiff a five-year option to purchase adjacent lots owned by defendant for $35,000, which was then a fair price. In 1945 defendant\u27s officers, overlooking the option agreement, authorized construction of a warehouse on the adjacent property. After defendant had expended about $20,000 in the construction, plaintiff exercised her option by giving notice to defendant. Upon defendant\u27s refusal to convey, plaintiff sued for specific performance. The trial court dismissed the complaint. Held, reversed and remanded with instruction to decree specific performance upon condition that plaintiff pay the option price plus such appreciation in value of the lot as resulted from the improvement, reserving defendant the right to remove the warehouse within a specified time; complaint to be dismissed should plaintiff fail to tender the required amount. Fontaine v. Brown County Motors Co., 251 Wis. 433, 29 N.W. (2d) 744 (1947)