Heilbron v. Israel

A catering business offered holiday (travel packages, which included entertainment and theological seminars, as well as food. Ones such package was made at a resort in New York for the holiday of Passover. Prior to his stay, Brent Israel agreed via phone to pay Heilbron $25,040 for the Jewish holiday event for his family, including himself. However, Israel did not show up at the resort and did not pay anything. Heilbron sued Israel for breach of contract. Israel argued the contract was enforceable due it not being written. His lawyer claimed that because the contract was not in writing, it violated the UCC’s Statute of Frauds.

ISSUE:

Is the contract valid? Explain. How do you rule in this case?

DECISION:

For this case, I am supporting Israel. This factor is because the contract is not valid.

LEGAL REASONS:

The Statute of Fraud refers to the state law that is used in certain cases of oral contracts. The Uniform Commercial Code comprises of a model statute of frauds that requires written contracts in only several situations. Over the years, oral contracts have been regarded as valid and thus enforceable especially in commercial and business contracts. The UCC not only covers sales but also commercial transactions. However, the UCC only becomes law after a state enacts a particular provision. Furthermore, the Statute of fraud does not accommodate for service contracts (Bernhardt, 2017). Therefore, it needed to be in written form in order to become valid. According to the Statute of Frauds, there are specific contracts that must be in writing in order to be considered as valid; contracts that are used in the sale of land and real estate, surety agreements where an individual guarantee to take over another person’s contractual obligation and agreements that cannot be performed within a year. Nonetheless, even if a contract is unenforceable under the UCC, it may be saved if one of the party suffered damage or additional costs by relying on the oral contract (Bernhardt, 2017). Therefore, Heilbron must prove that he suffered loses or additional costs as a result of the oral contract that he made with Israel.

Reference

Bernhardt, R. (2017). Listings and the Statute of Frauds. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2959846