Travis and Brooke offer to buy a house from Michael and Tara because they love the location, the size, and the decorations. Michael and Tara accept the offer and reduce it to a writing that states Travis and Brooke will pay $100,000.00 to Michael and Tara for their house at 123 East 4th Street, Tulsa, OK. When Travis and Brooke move into the house, they are furious because Michael and Tara took all of their furniture and decorations with them, and Travis and Brooke loved the house so much primarily because of the furniture and decorations. Travis said they talked about this a lot with Michael and Tara during the sale. Which statement below is correct according to the parol evidence rule?
A) Michael and Tara will be required to return their furniture and decorations because they talked about it with Travis and Tara in the sale of the house.
B) Since the writing only referred to the sale of the house and not the contents, the sale only includes the house.
C) Since there is a dispute as to the terms, the court will listen to evidence at trial to interpret the terms of the written contract.
D) The court will throw out the contract and will require them to renegotiate a new contract.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The parol evidence rule generally prohibits the introduction of evidence outside the contents of the written contract when the contract is intended to be a complete and final representation of the parties' agreement. Since the written agreement only mentioned the sale of the house and not the furniture or decorations, those items are not included in the sale according to the contract.

Travis and Brooke Offer to Buy a House from Michael