Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Hi, I recently entered negotiations to purchase a domain name and dealt with a reputable domain name broker who represented the seller. The following occured and I'd like to know what legal recourse I have.

I made an offer on the domain name which was rejected. Weeks later, the domain name broker responded with an email offering me the domain name for substantially less so long as I respond by the next day at noon. Simply put, "if you get back to me by xx est the domain name is yours"

I responded within 2 hours of the offer with an affirmative 'yes, let's do it'.

I then received a response an hour later from an apologetic broker who explained the buyer was nervous that he would not be able to close the deal and he sold it to a different buyer who would not agree to wait. Invoice had been sent and the transaction had begun.

I feel a contract was formed when I accepted and that since they had put my offer out they should not be able to conclude the agreement with another buyer until my deadline passed.

What is my recourse, as I have just lost an important domain name purchase and resulting earnings from it.

Thanks


Asked on 1/06/10, 3:13 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

This is a very interesting question. You do not expressly state that the sale to the other buyer was agreed on before your acceptance, but it sounds like it was. If it was after your acceptance, you have a straight-up breach of contract since your acceptance email seems a pretty clear acceptance of an offer. If they made a contract with the other buyer before you responded, then we have an interesting question of whether the "get back to me by xx est and the domain name is yours" constituted a binding agreement to keep the offer open until that time. Generally an agreement to keep an offer open needs to be more expressly stated than what you say, and there needs to be some consideration. But it is possible that an examination of the details of your situation might indicate you have a viable case. I suggest you ask an attorney for an initial consultation and go over the situation in detail.

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Answered on 1/11/10, 3:48 pm
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

I agree with Mr. McCormick. But even if the seller breached a valid contract, you may have a hard time proving what your damages would be. If your claim is that you lost income as a result of the breach, you will need to prove what that income would have been. That might be doable if you had contracted to buy an existing business with a history of earnings. But if all you were going to buy was a domain name, you will have a very hard time proving how much money you would have been able to make with it.

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Answered on 1/11/10, 3:57 pm
Melvin C. Belli The Belli Law Firm

As long as the broker had the ostensible or actual authority to bind the seller which it seems like he did, then when you accepted his offer you should have had a deal. Simply put he was the sellers agent had the authority to make the offer which you then accepted. Deal over and done.

You damages might be a little difficult to prove but you might be able to sue to get the domain name back. That�s called specific performance. You should consult an attorney immediately. You may call us for a free consultation at (866) 981-1950 or through our website at www.bellilawfirm.com

I think it is going to cost the seller and his broker some money to get out of this one.

Hope this help and good luck.

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Answered on 1/11/10, 9:28 pm


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