Boone v Coe
Boone v. Coe, move from KY to TX on promise to work in exchange for housing/crops P.521
F: Family travels to TX from KY after promising to work on person’s land in exchange for % of crops and land to live on. Other side decides to renege on offer. I: Can P collect damages on expenses incurred and time lost on the faith of a contract that is unenforceable under statute of frauds? H: No breach because under SOF there was no contract. P conferred no benefit on owner, so they are entitled to no recovery. R: SOF applies because contract was to be performed more than one year from date of agreement.
Note: had P’s done some work to improve land (e.g. Loveless v. Diehl), might have gotten SP or cost of performance, failing reasonableness test may have resulted in diminution of value of land with and without the fence.
Riley v. Capital Airlines (pg. 495)
- Parties enter 5-year oral contract with option to renew for methanol for aircraft
- Court rules that no damages for breach because no executory contract according to Statute of Frauds
- Still, court recompensed for loss in equipment based on good faith reliance on defendant’s specifications.
CL Execptions to SOF
Specially manufactured goods
- only applies to what has actually been performed/goods you’ve already made
- proves P isn’t lying b/c made to D specs
Part performed
- P has partially performed and D has accepted
- proves P wasn’t lying or D wouldn’t have accepted BUT only applies to the part that has been performed
2-201 Formal Req - SOF
Under the Code,
- there has to be a writing that evidences that there was a K (doesn’t have to be actual K) and has to be signed by both parties (over $500)
- merchant to merchant - oral K, one party sends writing of it to the other, if other party has reason to know it’s coming and doesn’t respon w/in 10 days, held to satisfy SOF
Schwedes v. Romain
D owned 20 acres of land in Flathead County; P wanted to retire in area, D wrote a letter offering to sell property to P on specified terms. P told D yes. Later, D’s attorney called indicating that the P’s didn’t need to come to Flathead to complete the transaction. P was told later by attorney that it would be unnecessary to send purchase price until October closing date. D sold property to someone else.
HOLD: Absent partial performance or grounds for estoppel, SOF requires that K for sale of real estate is invalid unless it, or some written note or memorandum, is subscribed to by the parties to be charged. K is not made so long as there remains something to be done in order to establish K relations. No written memorandum
Cloud Corp v. Hasbro, Inc.
Wonder World aquarium case
Parties agreed that P would ship materials to D’s East Asia affiliates, who would then produce the toy. D sent P T&Cs that said P could deviate only when D said it could. Informal relationship between the two companies. D placed last two orders with P. P produced more packets at D’s purchase orders, but D had declining demand for the item, and denied the increase requests. P sued for breach of contract. There were emails that indicated modification in the amount requested.
HOLD: Informal writings acknowledging a proposed modification of a contract for the sale of goods satisfy § 2-201 and § 2-209.
