Question

Plaintiff filed a petition for preliminary injunction asking the court to enjoin the sale of a 1991 Ferrari F40 to Karam Automotive Inc., as well as a complaint seeking specific performance of the alleged contract to sell the Ferrari to plaintiff for $800,000, or in the alternative, damages for defendants' breach of the alleged contract.

Michael Haber alleged the following: on December 28, 2013, he met with Mr. Moore, who held himself out as the Executor of Mr. Brehaut's Estate and expressed to Mr. Moore his interest in purchasing a Ferrari that was part of the estate. On January 1, 2014, Mr. Moore informed Mr. Haber that the Estate of Mr. Brehaut would accept $800,000 for the Ferrari and said to him, "It's your car." On January 6, 2014, following an inspection by Mr. Haber's mechanic, Mr. Moore shook Mr. Haber's hand and said, "We have a deal." After the oral agreement was reached, Mr. Moore advised Mr. Haber that there was an outstanding loan against the Ferrari, and that he would have to contact the bank to satisfy the loan. Later, when Mr. Haber arrived at his office, he received a phone call from a credit union employee stating that $75,554.30 was required to pay off the loan. On January 10, 2014, in a phone conversation, Mr. Moore told Mr. Haber, “You're going to be pissed at me"; someone had offered him a higher amount for the car, and so he did not agree to sell the car to Mr. Haber.

[Professional Sales, Inc. v. The Estate Of Joseph S. Brehaut, C. Christopher Moore, Jr., Executor And C. Christopher Moore, Jr. Individually And Joseph S. Brehaut And C. Christopher Moore, Jr. Partnership T/D/B/A Moll's Garage, 2014 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 768 (2015).]

In his answer, the defendant denied that an agreement had been reached and pleaded the statute of frauds. Do you think the court applied the statute of frauds in this case to bar the action by the plaintiff? Why or why not?

Answer 1

According to the given case, we can say that most contracts can be either written or oral and still be legally enforceable, but some agreements must be in writing in order to be binding. However, oral contracts are very difficult to enforce because there's no clear record of the offer, consideration, and acceptance.

We will discuss those types of contracts which must be in written form, although these contracts are not void but they are considered voidable and can be accepted or rejected by either party at any time.

1) A transfer of property at the death of the party performing the contract.

2) Real estate sales.

3) Agreements to pay someone else's debts.

4) Contracts that take longer than one year to complete.

5) Real estate leases for longer than one year.

6) Contracts for over a certain amount of money (depending on the state).

7) Contracts that will last longer than the life of the party performing the contract.

So, the given case in which the car was the property that has to be transferred but there was a contract which was made in oral form might not be considered as a fraud in the court.

it is always best to form a contract in a written form to avoid he said, she said and also If court enforcement is required, a written contract shows the parties' obligations.

however, if there is any kind of evidence or witness is present to make the case strong enough, the court can consider the case, to neutralize the loss of the Plaintiff. but according to the given case, no such thing is mentioned so, we can say that the court will not apply the statute of frauds, in this case, to bar the action by the plaintiff.