In today's Freedom Friday blog and email newsletter, I want to continue talking about last week's topic, although it's a different spin on it.  In last week's Freedom Friday blog and email newsletter, I talked about whether your contract was legally binding.  We talked about the three basic parts of any contract, oral or written, and those are an offer, an acceptance, and consideration.  We also talked briefly about the statute of fraud because certain types of contracts or agreements must be in writing in order to be enforceable.  In today's Freedom Friday blog and email newsletter, we're going to continue this discussion to discuss even more situations.  In today's Freedom Friday blog and email newsletter, I'm answering the question, “Can I be sued for breach of contract if I did not sign?”

The short answer to this question, is yes, you can be sued for breach of contract if you did not sign or agree in writing, but you may have certain defenses.  For starters, if your agreement or contract is entirely verbal, it may not be enforceable because of the statute of frauds.  In Oklahoma, any contract or agreement regarding real property, sale of goods for more than $500.00, a guarantee of a debt by a third party, or any agreement which requires more than one year to perform its terms must be in writing, and if you're sued for a verbal agreement and any of these situations apply, hire an attorney and they should file a motion to dismiss such a claim. 

There are other situations where you did not “sign” a written contract, but you can still be sued for “breach of contract” or similar claims.  For example, if you buy goods from a store or a vendor, you can be sued for indebtedness on open accounts or open invoices.  While there is not a contract, per se, the vendor you purchased the goods from made an offer, and buy accepting their goods, you made an acceptance --- and of course, since they told you the price in advance, there is consideration.

Lastly, if you are sued on a verbal agreement, there is also a three-year statute of limitations for the suit to be filed.  So, if the alleged breach was more than three (3) years ago, again, hire a lawyer and request your attorney move for dismissal.

Thinking about starting a small business?  Or maybe your business is having issues with contracts, leases, business partners, collection issues, or experiencing other barriers to growth?  Please contact me at [email protected] to schedule a FREE strategy session.

For more information about Liberty Legal Solutions, LLC, please visit our website at http://www.libertylegalok.com/