Voit v. Mertz

Summary

The Montana Supreme Court affirmed a district court judgment awarding David Voit $38,500, plus interest and costs, after determining that a contract for the conveyance of four acres was void because the subdivision was unlawful and performance was impracticable. The court held that Montana law and courts governed the contract because it concerned real property located in Montana, and rejected the defendants’ remaining arguments as irrelevant to the contract’s validity. The opinion was issued as a noncitable memorandum opinion.

Holdings

1. Montana courts and Montana law govern a contract for the conveyance of real property located in Montana, even though the contract was signed in Idaho.
2. The contract was void because its object—the conveyance of four acres from the Mertzes' Montana parcel—was unlawful and impracticable to perform where subdivision of the property was prohibited by state and county regulations.
3. Voit was not required to pay the remaining money or convey the Florida property in exchange for Montana property that he might never receive or might receive only at an unascertainable future time.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Montana courts and Montana law had jurisdiction over and governed a contract concerning the conveyance of Montana real property that was signed in Idaho.
2. Whether the contract was void because its sole object was unlawful or impracticable to perform under Montana law.
3. Whether Voit was entitled to recover the amounts he had paid under the void contract.

Disposition

affirmed