Renner v. Kehl, 150 Ariz. 94, 722 P.2d 262 (Ariz. 1986)
Legal information, not legal advice. Verify against the cited opinion.
- Citation: 150 Ariz. 94, 722 P.2d 262 (1986) (en banc)
- Court / Year: Arizona Supreme Court, 1986
- Topic tags: rescission · restitution · land_contract · mutual_mistake
- Facts: Renner contracted to buy agricultural development leases on ~2,262 acres of desert land from Kehl for 80,200 down payment) to grow jojoba. Both parties believed there was sufficient groundwater; after signing, test wells showed the water was insufficient in quantity and quality. Renner sought rescission for mutual mistake.
- Holding: Where a land contract is rescinded for mutual mistake of fact (no fraud or misrepresentation), the rescinding buyer is entitled to restitution of benefits conferred but not to consequential reliance damages. The measure: the buyer recovers the down payment plus the amount by which the buyer’s efforts increased the value of the seller’s property, minus the fair rental value of the land during the buyer’s occupancy — but not the ~$229,649.84 spent on development, because shifting that risk to the seller would be incompatible with equitable rescission.
- Reasoning: Equitable rescission restores the parties to their pre-contract positions through mutual restitution; it compensates for value actually conferred, offset by the value the rescinding party received (use/occupancy), but it does not make either party an insurer of the other’s reliance expenditures.
- Practical impact for CFD operators/buyers: Renner supplies Arizona’s mutual-restitution / restitution-offset formula when a land contract is unwound: payments and improvement-added value back to the buyer, less the reasonable rental value of the buyer’s possession. It is the natural reference point for measuring what a contract-for-deed buyer recovers (and what the seller may offset) when a deal is rescinded or set aside, paralleling the net-restitution approach other states apply on cancellation.
- Good-law status: Good law; a leading Arizona authority on rescission restitution, widely taught and cited.
- Source (retrieved): https://www.casemine.com/judgement/us/59148d6eadd7b04934542c11 (citation corroborated via https://www.leagle.com/decision/1986244150ariz941220 and https://www.quimbee.com/cases/renner-v-kehl) · Verified: 2026-06-08
Jurisdictions that follow / cite: arizona
Disclaimer. Legal information, not legal advice. Confirm the opinion is still good law before relying on it.