A yacht owner had become dissatisfied with his yacht. Instea…
A yacht owner had become dissatisfied with his yacht. Instead, he became infatuated with the magnificent yacht owned by his neighbor, who rented an adjacent slip at the dock. The yacht owner let the neighbor know that if and when the neighbor decided to sell his yacht, he would be interested in purchasing it. Several months later, the neighbor called the yacht owner and told him, “Good news: I’m buying a real boat. You can have my old yacht for $650,000.” “You have a deal,” said the excited yacht owner. The neighbor immediately sent a letter confirming transfer of ownership of his yacht in three weeks for a price of $650,000 and signed it, “Sincerely, your neighbor.” The neighbor’s yacht was only one year old and conforming models were still in limited distribution by its manufacturer. Several days later, the neighbor’s wife confessed that she had been having an affair with the yacht owner. The neighbor immediately called the yacht owner and said, “Our deal is off. You can have my wife, but never my boat. Not at any price.” An identical boat was listed for sale at $1,000,000. The yacht owner asserted an action demanding specific performance. Is the yacht owner likely to prevail?