Seals v. Sumrall, 2003-0873 (La. App. 1 Cir. 9/17/04), 887 So. 2d 91
Legal information, not legal advice. Verify against the cited opinion.
- Citation: Seals v. Sumrall, 2003-0873 (La. App. 1 Cir. 9/17/04), 887 So. 2d 91, 96.
- Court / Year: Louisiana Court of Appeal, First Circuit, 2004.
- Topic tags: forfeiture | restitution | refund | public_policy | bond_for_deed
- Facts: A bond-for-deed buyer defaulted. The contract purported to let the seller retain all installment payments as liquidated damages / rent on cancellation. The buyer sued for return of the sums paid toward the purchase price after the contract was cancelled.
- Holding: A contractual waiver of the buyer’s right to a return of the monies paid toward the purchase price is against public policy and unenforceable. On cancellation, the defaulting buyer is entitled to recover the payments made on the price, subject to the seller’s offsetting claim for the fair rental value of the buyer’s occupancy.
- Reasoning: A bond for deed is a contract to sell, not a lease; payments are applied to a purchase price, not consumed as rent. Permitting the seller to keep every payment would convert the installments into a forfeited penalty and strip the buyer of the equity built toward ownership. Louisiana’s restitution principles (and the public policy reflected in the bond-for-deed statutes) require the seller to disgorge price payments net of a reasonable rental offset for the period of use.
- Practical impact for CFD operators/buyers: Louisiana does not permit pure forfeiture of a defaulting buyer’s payments. A seller who cancels recovers the property and a fair-rental-value credit but must refund the buyer’s price payments — a “rescission-with-restitution” outcome rather than strict forfeiture. Drafting a payments-retention / liquidated-damages clause does not cure this; such waivers are void.
- Good-law status: Good law; cited with Berthelot v. Le Investment and Montz v. Theard for the no-forfeiture / refund-with-rental-offset rule.
- Source (retrieved): https://probonodeskmanual.loyno.edu/book/export/html/892 · Verified: 2026-06-08
Jurisdictions that follow / cite: louisiana
Disclaimer. Legal information, not legal advice. Confirm the opinion is still good law before relying on it.