Craig Tractenberg of Fox Rothschild. Courtesy photo The Value of Oral Contracts in Franchise Transactions
The franchise case begins with a quote of movie mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, "A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on." Goldwyn's truism regarding contract law is remembered in the case of Van Bortel v. Ford Motor, (W.D. NY Aug. 10, 2022).
August 18, 2022 at 11:00 AM
6 minute read
CommentaryThe franchise case begins with a quote of movie mogul, Samuel Goldwyn, "A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on." Goldwyn's truism regarding contract law is remembered in the case of Van Bortel v. Ford Motor, (W.D. NY Aug. 10, 2022).
U.S. District Court Judge David G. Larimer of the Western District of New York was called upon to decide whether an offer and acceptance occurred, whether consideration was present and whether an enforceable contract was alleged in the amended complaint. The court explained, "this case demonstrates that oral conversations containing vague promises that are never committed to writing are ill-suited means of forming enforceable contracts. As a result, the motion under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), which assumes all facts pleaded are true, was granted and the amended complaint dismissed for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
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