Legal and Labor Law Terms and Concepts, Quizzes of Business and Labour Law

Download Legal and Labor Law Terms and Concepts and more Quizzes Business and Labour Law in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 1.Employment At-Will: DEFINITION 1 -Employee can quit at any time for any reason -Employer can terminate the employee at any time for any reason TERM 2 3. Other Forms of Employment: DEFINITION 2 -Express agreement of employment for a set duration. -Example: Celine signs a contract to perform services as a singer in a specific concert hall for a period of two years. This specific contract provision which includes a specific duration of employment removes this arrangement from the presumption of at-will employment. -Employment based on the existence or non- existence of certain conditions. -Example: In the marketing industry, employment based on the existence or non-existence of certain conditions (sales goals that must be met by sales staff or face dismissal). TERM 3 EXCEPTIONS TO EMPLOYMENT AT WILL DEFINITION 3 1. Prevent Discrimination: -Example under Title VII is that an employer cannot terminate a person because of their gender. 2. Exercising Legal Rights: -Example: Cannot be fired for filing a workers compensation claim and the protections offered by whistleblowing statutes. Whistleblowing statutes provide protection from termination for an employee who reports alleged wrongdoing by an employer to a government agency. TERM 4 EXCEPTIONS TO EMPLOYMENT AT WILL DEFINITION 4 PUBLIC POLICY EXCEPTION EMPLOYMENT AT WILL DOCTRINE 1.Occurs when an employment termination violates a public policy. -Employee must be terminated for refusing to perform an action that violates a public policy (performing an illegal act, or being told not to perform a legal act) -The policy must be a PUBLIC one and must benefit society in general. TERM 5 EMPLOYMENT AT WILL recourse DEFINITION 5 -Employee may sue in tort to recover lost wages and benefits, pain and suffering, and possibly punitive damages for public policy violations. - -Courts are generally hesitant to apply the public policy exception to the employment at-will doctrine. TERM 6 Good Cause Exception to Employment At Will Doctrine: DEFINITION 6 1.Occurs where the employer acts in such a manner that an implied contract to terminate only for good cause is formed. 3.Based on contract law ONLY CONTRACT REMEDIES ARE AVAILABLE FOR THEPLAINTIFF! No tort damages may be recovered, unlike the public policy exception. Factors Courts Examine to Determine if there is an implied good cause exception: -Policy Manual/Handbook: A progressive discipline policy statement. -Duration of Employment: The longer an employee has worked for a company/entity, the better the evidence that the good cause exception applies. - -Awards for Performance: Promotions, raises, statements from supervisors indicating continued employment, among other factors, is good evidence for the good cause exception. TERM 7 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938: DEFINITION 7 -Prohibits children under the age of 14 from working. -Regulates the working conditions / hours of minors aged 14-18. -Sets minimum wage (established by Congress currently $7.25, in Florida it is currently $7.31) -Provides that work over 40 hours per week for hourly employees is to be compensated at time and a half (1 times hourly wage) (Some workers are exempted from the overtime requirements (agricultural workers, child actors, executive employees, professional employees, and certain types of sales and computer workers)) TERM 8 ERISA DEFINITION 8 Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 -Applies to employer-created medical, disability, and other types of welfare benefit plans. It does not require the employer to provide a retirement plan, but regulates the plan if created by an employer. TERM 9 COBRA DEFINITION 9 Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) -Provides employees may continue to receive health insurance under an employers plan for 18 months after termination from employment. TERM 10 Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 DEFINITION 10 -If an employee has worked for an employer for 12 months, they may up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for certain reasons (birth and care of a newborn, adoption of a child or foster child, or serious medical reasons). The Family and Medical Leave Act applies ONLY to employers with 50 or more employees. TERM 21 REMEDIES UNDER TITLE VII: DEFINITION 21 Equitable Relief: Can occur in the form of an injunction (e.g., prohibiting an employer from discriminating against ethnic minorities in hiring) or issue an order (e.g., requiring female candidates be awarded additional points on an entrance examination). TERM 22 REMEDIES UNDER TITLE VII: DEFINITION 22 Money Damages: Title VII provides an individual could recover the following damages: -Lost salary and benefits for up to two years prior to the filing of the charge; -Front pay equal to what the former employee would have earned if not discharged; -Attorneys Fees. TERM 23 REMEDIES UNDER TITLE VII: DEFINITION 23 Compensatory Damages: Damages for emotional pain and suffering Punitive Damages Title VII caps compensatory and punitive damages for organizations of 100 or fewer employees, the cap is $50,000; then the range proceeds gradually higher, up to employers with more than 500 employers who could be subject to a $300,000 fine. TERM 24 Disparate Treatment (Intentional Discrimination): DEFINITION 24 Stage One: Plaintiff must first show the following: 1)Membership in a protected class; 2)Adequate Qualifications; 3)Rejection; and 4)The benefit applied for remains open (or went to another individual). Stage Two: If Plaintiff proves its prima facie case in Stage One, then the Defendant must show: 1.The challenged employment action (e.g., refusal to hire) was taken because of a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason. The employer might provide evidence that a female applicant for a sales position at a software firm lacked the minimum qualifications posted for the job, or another person (even if male) possessed superior qualifications. TERM 25 Disparate Treatment Under Title VII DEFINITION 25 Stage Three: If the Defendant makes its required showing in Stage Two, then the burden shifts back to Plaintiff to show: 1. That the employers offered reason is mere pretext that is, the legitimate reason is not the true reason and that discriminatory intent motivated the employer to deny the benefit. An example would be that a female Plaintiff would win a case on disparate treatment if she could show that the President of the company, in an email, directed the human resources department not to hire any more women for sales positions. TERM 26 Prima Facie Case: DEFINITION 26 1.Complaining party must show a discriminatory effect of a specific employment practice. The 4/5 rule. Under this rule, if the selection rate for members in a protected class is less than 4/5th the selection rate for those in the majority, there is evidence of disparate impact. -Example: 50 minority applicants take an entrance exam and 5 pass, with the passage rate being 10%. Two hundred members of a majority class take the same examination, with one hundred passing, for a pass rate of 50%. Because the 10% rate is less than 4/5 of the 50% pass rate, the Plaintiff has a prima facie case of disparate impact. TERM 27 If Plaintiff proves prima facie case of Disparate Impact: DEFINITION 27 Then the employer must present evidence that the employment practice under scrutiny is: Job Related and Consistent with Business Necessity Example: Employer might have a minimum height or weight requirement for a job, and it would have to show that physical size is necessary to perform duties associated with the job. Next Step? If the employer puts on this proof, then the Plaintiff could still win the case at this point, the Plaintiff has to show the requirement is a pretext for discrimination or that there is another employment practice equivalent in the information it provides the employer that could be substituted for the offending practice. TERM 28 Constructive Discharge: DEFINITION 28 Where an employer creates a work environment that is so uncomfortable that a reasonable employee would quit. In order to prevail on a constructive discharge claim, an employee must show, under an objective standard, that the employer made working conditions so difficult that a reasonable person would feel compelled to resign. Webb v. Florida Health Care Management Corp., 804 So.2d 422, 424 (Fla. Ct. App. 2001) TERM 29 Retaliation DEFINITION 29 -Where an employer penalizes an employee when the employee reports an illegal employment practice.-An employee is about to receive a poor evaluation, thinking that could lead to a dismissal, so he/she goes to the human resources office and complains he/she is working in a hostile work environment. The employer is in a bind it could: 1.Issue a negative review and risk a retaliation action (the employee alleging that the negative review is retaliation for the claim of sexual harassment) or: 2.Not issue the negative review, keep the employee, and risk further decline in the employees quality of work. TERM 30 Equal Pay Act of 1963: DEFINITION 30 Forbids sex discrimination concerning pay an employer has violated the EPA if a woman receives lower pay than a man for performing substantially equal work. Plaintiff must show that the womans job and the higher-paid mans job involve: 1.Equal effort; 2.Equal skill; 3.Equal responsibility; and 4.Similar working conditions. If this is shown, the employer prevails only if it shows the disparity in pay relates to: 1.Seniority; 2.Merit; 3.Quality or quantity of work product; or 4.A factor other than sex. TERM 31 Religious Discrimination: DEFINITION 31 Title VII prohibits an employer from discriminating based on an individuals religious beliefs, practices, and observances. Employers MUST reasonably accommodate the religious practices of its employees, unless the accommodation would result in an undue hardship Example: Requiring an employee to work on the Sabbath may be a violation of Title VII. TERM 32 ADEA Act of 1967: DEFINITION 32 Protects against discrimination against applicants and employees who are at least forty (40 years of age. Important to remember this age! The ADEA covers employers with twenty (20) or more employees who are engaged in interstate commerce Prior to filing suit under the ADEA, an individual must file an action with the EEOC or appropriate state agency TERM 33 Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 DEFINITION 33 Applies to employers with fifteen (15) or more employees and those employers who are engaged in interstate commerce Compensatory and punitive damages are available, subject to Title VII caps Under the ADA, a disability is a person: 1.With a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of an individuals life activities; 2.With a record of such an impairment, or 3.Who is regarded as having such an impairment. Excluded: Homosexuality, Compulsive Gambling, Behavior flowing from the illegal use of drugs, use of alcohol in the workplace that violates company policy Requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to a job applicants or an employees disability, so long as making the accommodation does not create an undue hardship TERM 34 Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment: DEFINITION 34 A benefit relating to employment is offered to an employee in exchange for sexual favors. TERM 35 Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment: DEFINITION 35 When the workplace is so permeated with discriminatory intimidation, ridicule, and insult that is sufficiently severe or pervasive to alter the conditions of the victims employment and create an abusive working environment. Whether a particular environment is a hostile environment is a question of fact. TERM 46 reasonably definite DEFINITION 46 Rule: Courts require an offer to be reasonably definite. If terms are vague or impossible to measure with some precision or a major term is absent, no contract results. TERM 47 PROPER PARTY DEFINITION 47 Rule: An offer must sufficiently identify the offeree or the class from whom the offeree may emerge. Generally, ADVERTISEMENTS ARE NOT OFFERS! TERM 48 An offer may be terminated in several ways: DEFINITION 48 1.Lapse of Time; 2. Termination by Operation of Law; 3. Rejection by the Offeree; 4. Revocation by Offeror; and 5. Counter-Offer TERM 49 Termination by Lapse of Time: DEFINITION 49 Rule: If an offer does not stipulate the period during which it is to continue, it remains open for a reasonable time. TERM 50 Termination by Operation of Law: DEFINITION 50 Termination by Operation of Law: Can be caused by the death or adjudicated insanity of either party or the destruction of the subject matter of the offer or illegality that occurs after the offer is made. TERM 51 Revocation by the Offeror: DEFINITION 51 An offeror may revoke the offer at any time before the offeree accepts revocation is not effective until received by the offeree. The offeror can communicate a revocation directly, which is effective upon receipt by the offeree. An indirect revocation can also occur through a third party if 1) the third party gives correct information; 2) the offerors conduct would indicate to a reasonable person that the offeror no longer recognizes the offer; and 3) the third party is a reliable source. TERM 52 Counteroffer: DEFINITION 52 An offeree may reject an offer, and propose new terms thus making a counteroffer. Rule: An acceptance by an offeree must conform exactly to the terms of the offer the mirror- image rule. Any deviation from the terms of the offer and acceptance is held to be a counteroffer. TERM 53 Firm Offers: DEFINITION 53 Firm Offers: The offer of a merchant (businessperson dealing in goods) is irrevocable without consideration this applies to the sale of goods. TERM 54 Conduct of the Offeree: DEFINITION 54 Conduct of the Offeree: When the offeree starts to perform or relies on the offer, the law protects the offeree by holding that the offeror has lost the power to revoke. TERM 55 Acceptance DEFINITION 55 : An indication by the offeree of his or her willingness to be bound by the terms of an offer. Acceptance may take the form of an act (unilateral offer), a return promise communicated to the offeror (bilateral offer), or the signing and delivery of a written instrument (either by hard copy or electronically). Rule: In general, an offeree cannot assign an offer to a third party. HOWEVER: Option contracts are an exception. The holder of the option can transfer the option to another person. TERM 56 Accepting a Bilateral Offer: DEFINITION 56 The rule is that a bilateral contract is accepted by the offeree bymaking a promise in response to the promise of the offeror. TERM 57 Silence? DEFINITION 57 The general rule is that mere silence of the offeree does not amount to acceptance of an offer. TERM 58 Communication of Acceptance: DEFINITION 58 An offeror is the master of the offer thus, the offeror can control the manner (promise or performance) and mode or medium of acceptance (phone, telegram, mail). TERM 59 When does acceptance take effect DEFINITION 59 upon receipt by the offeror, or dispatch by the offeree? Mailbox Rule: If mail is the authorized medium, the acceptance letter is effective the moment it is mailed, even if the offeror never receives the letter of acceptance. However, the offeror can work around the mailbox rule by simply stating in the offer that the acceptance is not effective until it is actually received. TERM 60 Acceptance of a Unilateral Offer: DEFINITION 60 Rule is that substantial performance of the act requested constitutes an acceptance of a unilateral offer. Remember that once performance is underway by the offeree, the offeror CANNOT revoke the offer. TERM 71 forbearance DEFINITION 71 Consideration may take the form of forbearance from acting or a promise to forbear from taking some action. Examples: - Relinquishment of alleged rights in an estate will furnish consideration to support a return promise to pay money. -An agreement by the seller of a business not to compete with the person who has bought a business from him or her. -Promise not to bring a lawsuit. TERM 72 PROMISSORY ESTOPPEL DEFINITION 72 the doctrine validates a contract WITHOUT consideration. Promissory Estoppel: A promise which the promisor should reasonably expect to induce action or forbearance on the part of the promisee or a third person and which does induce such action or forbearance is binding if injustice can be avoided only by enforcement of the promise. The remedy granted for breach may be limited as justice requires. TERM 73 PROMISSORY ESTOPPEL DEFINITION 73 The grandfathers promise is made legally binding through promissory estoppel. First Grandfather should have reasonably expected the granddaughter to buy a car since the granddaughter knows that she will soon receive $25,000 Second The granddaughter did in fact rely on the promise by borrowing $20,000 to buy a car. Third Justice under these facts requires the promise to be binding. Finally The granddaughter should receive only $20,000 because the remedy should be limited to the change of position, as justice requires. TERM 74 MINORS AND CONTRACTS DEFINITION 74 Rule: A minor (under the age of 18) generally has the right to disaffirm contracts and thus are voidable at the minors option. Minors can also generally avoid both executed and executory contracts for a reasonable period of time after majority. An executed contract is ratified by a minor if the consideration is retained for an unreasonable time after majority. Ratification can also result from acceptance of benefits incidental to ownership, such as rents, dividends, or interest. Exceptions: Some states have altered this general rule by statute exceptions include the purchase of life insurance and contracts entered into with colleges or universities. TERM 75 Obligation of a Minor to Disaffirm: DEFINITION 75 Majority Rule: Minor must return remaining property (if any) as a condition of disaffirming a contract. Minority Rule: Contract can be disaffirmed only if ALL property is returned. TERM 76 Minors and Necessaries DEFINITION 76 Rule: Minors are liable for the reasonable value of necessaries. Necessaries include whatever is needed for a minors subsistence as measured by his or her age, station in life, and all his or her surrounding circumstances. Necessaries typically include food and lodging, medical services, education and clothing. TERM 77 Third-Party Rights DEFINITION 77 Rule: If a minor sells goods to an adult, the adult only obtains a voidable title to the goods. Example: If a minor sells his farm to an adult, who in turn sells the farm to a good-faith purchaser (a buyer who pays value honestly believing he or she has the legal right to acquire valid title to the item purchased), then the minor may avoid the original contract and regain the title to the farm against the good-faith purchaser. TERM 78 DOCTRINE OF MISTAKE BILATERAL MISTAKE DEFINITION 78 General Rule: Courts may grant relief only when there has been a bilateral mistake of material fact (both parties mistaken) as contrasted with a unilateral mistake (one party mistaken). Subrule: When the parties are uncertain or consciously ignorant of facts about an item sold, there is no avoidance for mistake. Subrule: A mutual mistake regarding the quality of the item sold, a quality that goes to its very essence, is grounds for avoiding a contract. TERM 79 Remedies For a bilateral mistake DEFINITION 79 Remedies: For a bilateral mistake of material fact, courts may grant two different types of relief: 1.Contract Avoidance: Courts allows any party adversely affected by the mistake to avoid his or her contract. 2.Contract Reformation: Court changes contract to correct a mistake. TERM 80 Unilateral Mistake DEFINITION 80 Unilateral Mistake General Rule: A unilateral mistake will typically NOT allow the court to grant relief. Exception An offeree who has reason to know of a unilateral mistake is not permitted to snap up such an offer and profit thereby. If a mistake in a bid in a contract is clearly apparent to the offeree, it cannot be accepted by the offeree. TERM 81 exception to unilateral mistake: bid DEFINITION 81 A bidder typically can withdraw a bid containing an error if the following elements are met: 1)Bidder acted in good faith; 2)Bidder acted without gross negligence; 3)Bidder was reasonably prompt in giving notice of the error in the bid to the other party; 4)Bidder will suffer substantial detriment by forfeiture; and 5)The other partys status has not greatly changed and relief from forfeiture will work no substantial hardship on him or her. TERM 82 DOCTRINE OF MISREPRESENTATION DEFINITION 82 Fraudulent Misrepresentation: Intentional misrepresentation. Tort damages, including punitive damages, are allowed. Negligent Misrepresentation: Misrepresentation based on a lack of due care. Only contract damages are allowed. Innocent Misrepresentation: Misrepresentation based on an honest error. All three types of misrepresentation may allow the victim to rescind a contract! TERM 83 Elements of Misrepresentation: DEFINITION 83 1.Scienter Intention to Mislead: Knowledge of the falsity, or statements made with such utter recklessness and disregard for the truth that knowledge is inferred. 2.False Representation or the Concealment of a Material Fact: An actual or implied misrepresentation of a past or existing fact must have been committed. 3.Justifiable Reliance on the False Statement or Concealment: The party to whom the misrepresentation is made must reasonably believe it to be true and must act on it, to his or her detriment. 4.Damages as a consequence of reliance. TERM 84 misrepresentation DEFINITION 84 A misrepresentation must be one of FACT rather than OPINION. Exceptions: -If a fiduciary relationship exists, then an opinion can constitute a misrepresentation. -Example: A doctor, after examining a patient for an insurance company physical, states he is of the opinion that the person has no physical disability. If his actual opinion is that the patient has cancer, the doctor is guilty of fraud. He has misstated a fact (his professional opinion). -Also, if a person holds himself/herself out as an expert, then an opinion can constitute a misrepresentation. Example: A jeweler TERM 85 DOCTRINE OF MISREPRESENTATION: silence DEFINITION 85 Silence as Fraud? The general rule is that silence in the absence of a duty does not constitute fraud. The law of contracts traditionally has followed the rule of caveat emptor (let the buyer beware.). There are some exceptions today: 1.Half- Truths: If part of the truth is told, but another portion is not, so as to create an overall misleading impression, this may constitute misrepresentation. 2.Positive Concealment: If the party has taken positive action to conceal the truth, this will be actionable even though it is not verbal. Example: Person A wants to sell a home, which has had a termite issue, to Person B. Person A sweeps up the evidence of termites and repaints the affected area just before a sale. 3. Failure to Correct Past Statement: If the party knows that disclosure of a fact is needed to prevent some previous assertion from being misleading, and doesnt disclose it, this will be actionable. 4. Fiduciary Relationship: If the parties have some kind of fiduciary relationship, so that one believes the other is looking out for his/her interests, there will be a duty to disclose material facts. TERM 96 Activities Which Violate (Or May Violate) the Sherman Antitrust Act DEFINITION 96 1.Price Fixing (Vertical and Horizontal) 2.Exclusive Agreements / Agreements granting exclusive rights to sell a product or to sell in exclusive territories. An agreement among competitors to divide territories is per se illegal. However, if a manufacturer gives an exclusive territory to a distributor, the agreement is illegal only if it has unreasonable anticompetitive effects. 3. Tying Products to One Another / Agreements which tie one product to another where the effect is to lessen competition. Example: It may be illegal to make an agreement to sell or lease a product only if the buyer or lessee purchases a different product or service. TERM 97 AGREEMENTS NOT TO COMPETE DEFINITION 97 Agreements Not to Compete: An agreement where one person (or entity) agrees not to compete with another. Courts typically scrutinize these agreements heavily they are enforced if they are reasonably necessary for the protection of a purchaser, the remaining members of a business, or an employer, provided the covenant: 1)Is reasonable in point of time; 2)Is reasonable in the area of restraint; 3)Is necessary to protect goodwill; 4)Does not place an undue burden on the covenantor; and 5)Does not violate the public interest. *The law will look with more favor on a covenant not to compete if it involves a business interest rather than employment, because there is more equality of bargaining power between business interests rather than in the employment context. *Covenants not to compete must be part of another contract to be enforceable! It cannot stand alone as a contract. TERM 98 DOCTRINE OF UNSCONSCIONABILITY DEFINITION 98 Contracts of Adhesion: A standardized contract entirely prepared by one party examples include insurance contracts, leases, and employment contracts. They are more closely scrutinized by the courts than other types of contracts. Doctrine of Unconscionability: Relatively new development in contract law which allows a judge to invalidate a contract or provisions which are oppressive, overreaching, or shocking to the conscience. IMPORTANT UNCONSCIONABILITY IS A QUESTION OF LAW WHICH IS DECIDED BY THE JUDGE!!! There are two types of unconscionability Procedural and Substantive. TERM 99 Procedural Unconscionability DEFINITION 99 Procedural Unconscionability Where the court finds there is an unequal bargaining power between the parties, and where the process of making the contract is oppressive. TERM 100 Substantive Unconscionability DEFINITION 100 SubstantiveUnconscionabilityWhere the court scrutinizes the actual terms of the contract. TERM 101 Exculpatory Clauses (waiver) DEFINITION 101 A contract provision whereby one of the parties attempts to relieve itself of tort liability. These clauses have increasingly been upheld by the courts, particularly with regard to fitness centers. However, some states do hold these to be contrary to public policy. TERM 102 Tickets Disclaiming Liability DEFINITION 102 Rule: Printed matter on a ticket is generally NOT held as part of an offer that is accepted by the holder of the ticket. Tickets given at checkrooms or repair shops are usually received as a means of identifying the article to be returned, rather than as setting forth the terms of a contract. Some courts have found contract terms on these tickets to be unconscionable. TERM 103 Statute of Frauds DEFINITION 103 General Rule: An oral contract is just as valid and enforceable as a written contract. However, some oral contracts are unenforceable under a law known as the statute of frauds. Contract Within the Statute of Frauds Contract that requires written proof. If written proof is not required, then it is outside the statute of frauds. Role of the Statute of Frauds: Generally, the statute is a defense, even though there is no factual dispute over the existence of the contract or its terms. A contract may come into existence at the time of the oral agreement, but it is not enforceable until written evidence of the agreement is available. The agreement is valid in every respect except for the lack of proper evidence of its existence. The statute creates a defense in suits for the breach of executory oral contracts covered by its provisions. TERM 104 Contracts Within the Statute of Frauds DEFINITION 104 1.Guaranty Contracts: Where a surety (guarantor) promises to pay the debt of another. Example: Father says to auto dealer concerning a sons car purchase, Deliver the car to my son. If he does not pay for it, then I promise to pay. Son has the primary obligation for the debt; father has a secondary obligation to pay. The sons promise is not within the statute of frauds; HOWEVER, the fathers promise is since it is a secondary obligation. 2. Agreements for the Sale of Land or an Interest in Land Examples: Sale of an entire interest in land; contracts involving interests for a persons lifetime (life estates), mortgages, easements, and to leases in excess of one year. TERM 105 Contracts Within the Statute of Frauds DEFINITION 105 3. Contracts That Cannot Be Performed Within One Year from the Date of Making -The period is measured from the time the oral contract is made to the time when the promised performance is to be completed. -Statute of frauds does not apply if there is a slight possibility the contract could be performed within a year. 4. Contracts for the Sale of Goods Statute applies if the sale of goods involves $500 or more TERM 106 Writing Required by the Statute of Frauds: DEFINITION 106 Only the party charged with failing to comply with the contract need sign the writing. All that is required to meet the writing requirement is a note or memorandum that provides written evidence of the agreement. The writing only needs to contain the names of the parties, a description of the subject matter, the price, and the general terms of the agreement. TERM 107 Common Law Exceptions to the Statute of Frauds: Doctrine of Part Performance DEFINITION 107 Doctrine of Part PerformanceWhen one party to an oral contract partly or fully performs, then the other party is equitably estopped from using the statute of frauds as a defense. Example: Courts will enforce an oral contract for the sale of land if, with the sellers consent, the buyer takes possession of the land and makes a partial payment and valuable improvements on it. TERM 108 Common Law Exceptions to the Statute of Frauds: Promissory Estoppel: DEFINITION 108 Promissory Estoppel: When a party relies to his or her detriment on an oral promise, the oral promise may be enforceable, notwithstanding the statute of frauds. The reliance must be foreseeable by the promisor, and enforcement of the promise must be necessary to avoid injustice. The remedy may be limited as justice requires. TERM 109 Parol Evidence Rule: DEFINITION 109 Prevents the introduction of prior and contemporaneous oral or written statements that might vary or contradict the final written contract. This rule assumes that the parties to a contract embody the terms of their agreement in a writing intended to be the final and exclusive expression of their agreement. Thus, parol (extrinsic) evidence is not admissible to supplement, subtract from, alter, vary, or contradict the agreement as written. TERM 110 Exceptions to Parol Evidence Rule DEFINITION 110 1.Agreements made after the written contract 2.Evidence of Fraudulent Misrepresentations 3.Evidence Concerning Lack of Delivery of a Contract When Delivery is Required to Give It Effect 4.Errors in Drafting or Reducing the Contract to Writing 5.Clarification of the Terms of an Ambiguous Contract