Parties to a real estate dispute signed a settlement agreement whereby one party would purchase the rights of the other party, subject to the provision of ownership documents within six months. The selling party concealed a material inheritance order in its possession, and subsequently contended that the agreement had expired due to the passage of time.
The Court held that the agreement between the parties is valid and should be enforced. As a rule, parties to a contract must act in good faith to fulfill it, including a duty of active cooperation to promote it. Israeli law states that a party who prevented the fulfillment of a condition in a contract is not entitled to rely on its non-fulfillment. Furthermore, a waiver of a contractual right will only be recognized when there is solid evidence of its abandonment, and temporary silence does not constitute a waiver in itself. Here, the seller acted in bad faith when he deliberately concealed the inheritance order, and waited for the deadline to pass in order to claim the expiration of the agreement. Therefore, the settlement between the parties will be enforced and the purchasers will be granted the right to purchase the real estate.