If you, like me, just taught about letters of intent and also promissory estoppel, then here’s a case with both for you, out of the District of Minnesota, City Center Realty Partners v. Macy’s Retail Holdings, Civil No. 17-CV-528 (SRN/TNL). (The decision is behind a paywall, but you can read about the background of the lawsuit here.)

The parties were negotiating a sale of Macy’s property in Minneapolis and had executed a Letter of Intent before (predictably, since we’re in court) the deal fell apart. City Center brought claims against Macy’s, including breach of contract based on the letter of intent. However, Macy’s argued that the letter of intent was not binding, and the court agreed. The clauses in the letter of intent referred to a future purchase agreement that was never executed, and so, absent this purchase agreement, the letter of intent only bound the parties in very limited ways.

City Center also brought a claim that Macy’s breached the covenant of good faith and fair dealing in delaying the finalizing of the transaction. However, the actions that City Center complained about were not things that Macy’s was obligated to do. Macy’s fulfilled its obligations under the letter of intent and City Center’s other allegations of delay and obstruction on Macy’s part were not actionable.

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