seller backing out after assignment of contract

[Yocheved Beer]

Hi all,

I found a deal from a wholesaller and gave him a deposit of 20k. Now they say the seller has backed out, and they will give me back my money.

Is there anything I can, like sue the seller?

what are my rights as the assignee? 

[Stuart Udis]

@Yocheved Beer There's quite a few factors here. From my experience,  assignment contracts are generally poorly drafted and the underlying sales agreements are customarily drafted even worse which adds an additional layer of complexity to sift through. From there its really dependent on the language in the sales agreement.....Does the sales agreement contain a liquidated damages clause?  Is mediation required? How do you actually enforce and get the seller to cooperate? Even if specific performance is plausible based on the terms of the agrement, this is costly and timely to pursue. Keep in mind in this case, you are not dealing with insurance carrires and any monetary judgment, if applicable will be difficult to collect on (particularly in this space as I am sure you are dealing with unsophisticated and poorly capitalized parties). This should all point to you being happy to get your deposit money returned as the remedies in fact patterns similar to what you shared are rarely worth the pursuit. 

As a side note, you mentioned giving the wholesaler the $20,000 deposit. I would highly recommend this be held by a title company if you are to proceed with another assignment transaction to better protect yourself.