Florida Statute of Frauds – Case Law Update
The Florida Statute of Frauds is codified at Florida Statute section 725.01 which provides, in pertinent part:
No action shall be brought … whereby to charge the defendant upon any special promise to answer for the debt, default or miscarriage of another person … or upon any agreement that is not to be performed within the space of 1 year from the making thereof … unless the agreement or promise upon which such action shall be brought, or some note or memorandum thereof shall be in writing and signed by the party to be charged therewith….
As it relates to the time for performance, the general rule is that an oral contract for an indefinite time is not necessarily time barred by the Statute of Frauds; only if a contract could not possibly be performed within one year would it fall within the statute.
Relying upon this rule, the court in Terzis v. Pompano Paint and Body Repair, Inc., 4D11-2155, 2012 WL 6601316 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012), ruled that where the complaint did not allege that the parties agreed on a time for performance of the oral contract or that the parties intended that it should be for longer than a period of one year, the oral contract fell outside the purview of the statute of frauds. The court noted that since the case was at a motion to dismiss stage, that the reasonable inferences arising from the complaint suggested that the oral contract was for an indefinite time and could be performed within a year.
Contract litigation is replete with a variety of issues whether you are seeking to enforce a contract, or defending against enforcement of it. The attorneys at Schecter Law have the knowledge and experience to tackle complex contractual disputes and can assist you or your business with all of your business contract litigation needs.
