Abstract
Few common law doctrines are as widely accepted as the doctrine of merger. Indeed, most practitioners routinely draft land sale contracts on the assumption that all contractual representations and warranties will be extinguished by the ensuing deed Relying upon a comprehensive empirical analysis of the decisional law of Maryland's appellate courts, the authors examine the tortured history of the doctrine in Maryland and discover that the courts have set a trap for unwary draftsmen by repeatedly grasping for exceptions to the rule. The authors conclude that the only areas of judicial consistency and certainty are those where the covenant relates to title, and where the parties have included contractual pro visions that address the survivability or merger of representations in the land sale contract. To guide the careful practitioner through the merger maze, sample merger and survival pro visions are appended to the article.
Recommended Citation
Goldman, Barry M. and Berghel, Victoria Smouse
(1983)
"Common Law Doctrine of Merger: The Exceptions Are the Rule,"
University of Baltimore Law Review: Vol. 13:
Iss.
1, Article 3.
Available at:
https://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/ublr/vol13/iss1/3