Myers of Jane M. Myers, P.C.: Reflects on her most humorous/unique situation

What is the most humorous or unique situation you have encountered during your career? There have been many situations that come to mind but one that I remember vividly happened very early in my career when I handled residential real estate matters. I was representing a young couple who were buying their first home. The seller was an elderly gentleman who had lived in the house for almost 50 years. The transaction had been as "plain vanilla" and pleasant as anyone could have hoped for. The day of the closing arrived and the buyers were nervous and excited. They had conducted their walk-through that morning and everything was fine. They signed all the mortgage documents and were ready with their checks. Just before I was going to hand their payment to the seller's attorney, the seller said casually, "I hope you know that I'm taking the lawn."
The closing screeched to a halt - we all thought it was a joke. But he continued, "I spent almost 50 years taking care of that lawn- that's why it looks as good as it does - and I plan on taking it with me… to Pennsylvania. I've got a friend with a sod cutting machine and I'm going to flat bed it out of here." He was dead serious and supported his position by stating that nowhere in the contract did it state that the sale of the house also included the lawn! Needless to say, after some interesting discussion and persuasion, the lawn stayed behind. Jane M. Myers, P.C. is a law firm that functions as outside legal counsel for privately held companies. The firm was formed to provide practical business advice and counsel to a wide variety of businesses ranging from small firms to established institutions and to provide them with ready access to experienced attorneys. Jane Myers, Esq., is an attorney at law at Jane M. Myers, P.C., Jericho, N.Y.