Willis and Leslie orally agree to the sale of a parcel of land for $50,000: one-half payable now as a down payment;one-half payable in 30 days at the time of closing when the title will be transferred.The buyer,Willis,is to have possession immediately.Willis pays Leslie $25,000,takes possession of the land,and starts building a house.At the time of closing,Willis has made a substantial beginning on the house.However,Leslie refuses to transfer the title,claiming the oral contract is not enforceable.This contract is
A)enforceable, because the statute of frauds does not apply to this interest in land.
B)unenforceable, because there is no writing signed by Leslie.
C)enforceable, because Willis has partially performed the oral contract and made improvements on the land.
D)unenforceable, because the parol evidence rule applies.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This contract is enforceable because Willis has partially performed the oral contract and made improvements on the land. When one party to an oral contract partially performs his side of the agreement, equity will intervene to enforce the contract. Though the statute of frauds requires contracts pertaining to interests in land to be in writing, this is an exception to the statute by operation of the doctrine of part performance. The parol evidence rule is not applicable here because there is no written agreement to interpret.

Willis and Leslie Orally Agree to the Sale of a Parcel