Exam 17: Writing, Electronic Forms, and Interpretation of Contracts

A father's oral promise to his daughter and her fiancée made in consideration of their contemplated marriage is binding when made in the course of a serious discussion.

The writing required by the statute of frauds in the case of a contract for the sale of land must:

Bart was a self-made millionaire who had earned his fortune by dedicated hard work.Bart had worked so hard that he never had developed much of a social life.Bart met Linda and fell in love with her.When Bart proposed to Linda,she told him that she needed time before making such an important decision.Pressing her for a favorable response,Bart telephoned Linda and promised her $100,000 if she would marry him.Linda then accepted the proposal. Bart contracted with Quick Builders for the construction of a home Bart intended to move into with Linda after their marriage.Construction by Quick was not very quick because Quick was not paying subcontractors the sums that they were owed.They,in turn,were not completing their work.To expedite matters,Bart called the subcontractors and assured them that Bart would pay any sums that Quick Builders did not pay if they would complete the construction. Bart and Linda married and the subcontractors completed the work.Quick Builders did not pay the subcontractors in full.Bart failed to pay Linda the $100,000.Both Linda and the subcontractors sued Bart.Discuss the probable outcome of the lawsuits.

Provisions of a contract will be considered separately and not as a whole.

Parol evidence generally is admissible to explain:

When the main purpose of the promisor's promise to pay the debt of another is to benefit the promisor,the statute of frauds is not applicable,and the oral promise to pay the debt is binding.

Under the statute of frauds,an oral contract must be completed within one year after performance begins.

The parol evidence rule does not apply to changes made after the signing of the contract.

An oral agreement to supply a line of credit for two (2)years cannot be enforced because of the statute of frauds.

Details of performance of a contract not expressly stated in a contract will often be implied by the court.

A contract is created by which the terms are stated to be for consideration in the amount of $3,000.If typewritten in the contract is the term "four thousand dollars," while the amount of $3,000 is printed within the form:

The parol evidence rule:

The statute of frauds applies to:

When a contract proves to be a bad bargain:

Parol evidence is not admissible to show fraud,duress or mistake.

No writing is required for a service contract that can be performed within one year after the date of the agreement.

An oral contract can be enforced when it relates to:

The one-year performance requirement for an oral contract begins:

Suzy Anders enters into an oral contract to purchase a tract of land from Bill Hermes.The land is considered worthless,but Anders feels that she has discovered a possible usage that would drastically increase the value of the land.To assure herself of the potential value of the land,Anders orally hires an attorney to investigate the title and records associated with the land in question.Before gaining any information from her attorney,Anders orally contracts with a builder to construct a huge building on the site.Because of the size of the project,a completion time is difficult to predict.Anders now discovers that the land is indeed useless,a fact that she obtains through information from her attorney. Anders now refuses to honor her contracts with Hermes,her attorney,and the builder.Must Anders honor her contractual agreements?

Franklin,a hobby-shop supplier,and Gordon,a hobby-shop owner,entered into a contract that provided that Franklin would sell Gordon fifty World War II battleship models at Franklin's cost of $2.95 each,plus a reasonable profit.Gordon brought suit to enforce the contract against Franklin,who refused to deliver the models.Franklin claimed that there was no contract because of indefiniteness.Is Franklin correct?