Z&S Partners David Steinmetz and Jody Cross, together with Yankwitt LLP, co-authored an article that was recently published in the New York Law Journal, entitled “Is It Time to Retire Specific Performance’s ‘Land Is Unique’ Mantra?” The article examines the continued relevancy of specific performance as a remedy for breach of a residential contract of sale. Yankwitt LLP posits that due to the ability to replicate distinct property characteristics, together with advancements in modern appraisal techniques, monetary damages can sufficiently compensate a non-breaching purchaser. Z&S maintains that each parcel of real property remains unique, and that the presumptive default remedy of specific performance puts the parties on equal economic footing, and is the more equitable way to make the non-breaching purchaser whole. A copy of the article can be viewed, downloaded, or printed below.
Z&S and Yankwitt LLP were recently opposing counsel in a case seeking specific performance of a residential contract, which resulted in a settlement between the parties.
