Enforcement of Preliminary Real Estate Contract Despite Agent's Lack of Formal Deed Authority

A party sued to enforce an obligation arising from a preliminary contract to sell real property, which required the seller to provide a formal deed, but the seller refused, asserting the preliminary contract was invalid due to a defect in the agent's authority to sign on the seller's behalf. The court upheld the decision to enforce the obligation, reasoning that even if the agent lacked specific formal authority for the final deed, the preliminary contract itself—which stipulated the sale and contained the essential elements—was validly formed, and specific performance could be ordered based on that binding agreement.