Contract Rescission and Payment Forfeiture in Land Sale Installment Agreement

The dispute arose from a contract for the sale of land that stipulated a price payable in installments, with a clause allowing the seller to rescind the sale unilaterally upon non-payment of any installment, and requiring the return of sums paid only after the seller successfully re-sold the property, which the buyer challenged as an abusive forfeiture of payment. The court rejected the buyer's appeal, holding that the stipulation providing for the seller's right to unilaterally terminate the contract upon non-payment and retain prior payments until a subsequent resale did not constitute an abusive penalty clause or an illicit forfeiture, as it merely regulated the consequences of a breach of the agreed-upon payment terms.