Earnout and clawback clauses in real estate sales contracts

Abstract

The earnout and clawback clauses are often used by the parties in sales contracts. These clauses provide for price flexibility in the agreements and as a result they are of crucial legal and commercial importance for the parties. The issue which should be analysed is the admissibility of introducing these clauses in sales contracts pertaining to real properties (perpetual usufruct right). It is result of regulation contained in Article 157 of the Civil Code pursuant to which the ownership of a real property cannot be transferred conditionally or with the stipulation of a time limit. If these clauses fulfil the premises of a condition, they could not be applied in sales contracts aimed at transferring the ownership of real property to the buyer. The aim of the article is to find an answer to this question. The conducted research leads to the conclusion that both earnout and clawback clauses are compatible with the way of determining a price according to Article 536 § 2 of the Civil Code and are admissible under Polish law. Both clauses are also admissible in sale agreements concerning real property – they cannot be treated like a condition (Article 157 of the Civil Code). As a consequence, sale agreements containing such clauses transfer the ownership of the real estate to the buyer.