The panel considered whether the purchase-and-sale agreement for a VFW post property in Revere was effectively extended to Oct. 29, 2020, and whether the church plaintiff had shown it was ready, willing and able to close.

Tom Campbell, representing the Mottolo post (VFW), argued the church could not have closed without Eastern Bank financing and a certificate of occupancy and that the post’s new management terminated the transaction well before the contested closing date. Campbell emphasized that, in his view, the unsigned extension language and a management change showed the parties were not in mutual, enforceable agreement to extend.

Peter Calabresi for Christian Church Logos of God countered that the record included multiple signed or otherwise effective extensions, email exchanges that the trial court credited as an extension, evidence of zoning work and attorney invoicing related to the sale, and bank documents and account statements showing funds sufficient to close. Calabresi argued specific performance was appropriate given the seller's conduct and admitted documentary evidence—including a draft lease/leaseback email chain and conditional municipal approvals—demonstrated the parties’ ongoing efforts.

The panel questioned whether a bank commitment required a certificate of occupancy to close, whether summary judgment or a jury trial should decide disputed fact questions, and whether the premature termination meant the plaintiff failed to meet its burden at summary judgment. The matter was taken as submitted.