oral contract

Thesaurus

Noun

oral contract - an agreement that is not in writing and is not signed by the parties but is a real existing contract that lacks only the formal requirement of a memorandum to render it enforceable in litigationagreement, understanding - the statement (oral or written) of an exchange of promises; "they had an agreement that they would not interfere in each other's business"; "there was an understanding between management and the workers"

Oral Contract

Related to Oral Contract: written contract

Oral Contract

An agreement between parties that is either partly in writing and partly dependent on spoken words or that is entirely dependent on spoken words.

An oral contract is enforceable unless its subject matter comes within the statute of frauds, an English Law adopted in the United States, that requires certain contracts to be in writing. For example, a contract to sell real property, to be enforceable, must be in writing to comply with the statute. An oral contract to sell Personal Property for an amount less than that set in the statute does not fall within its limits and, therefore, is enforceable without being reduced to a writing. The Uniform Commercial Code governs the enforceability of oral contracts in sales transactions involving merchants.

oral contract

n. an agreement made with spoken words and either no writing or only partially written. An oral contract is just as valid as a written agreement. The main problem with oral contracts is proving its existence or the terms. As one wag observed: "An oral contract is as good as the paper it's written on." An oral contract is often provable by action taken by one or both parties which is obviously in reliance on the existence of a contract. The other significant difference between oral and written contracts is that the time to sue for breach of an oral contract (the statute of limitations) is sometimes shorter. For example, California's limitation is two years for oral compared to four for written, Connecticut and Washington three for oral rather than six for written, and Georgia four for oral instead of 20 for written. (See: contract, agreement)

oral contract

Oral contract

A contract not recorded on paper or on computer, but made vocally which is usually enforceable.

Oral Contract

A contract concluded by mutual agreement between the parties but is not written. In general, an oral contract is equally valid as a written one, though some contracts, such as those dealing with transfers of real estate, must be written. However, oral contracts can be more difficult to enforce in a court of law if there are no witnesses or other evidence attesting to the existence of the oral contract.

oral contract

A verbal agreement that is enforceable unless it falls within the Statute of Frauds. The problem with most oral contracts is not one of technical enforceability; it is one of proof. Unless both parties to a dispute have a clear recollection of the exact terms of the contract, and they are both truthful, a jury will have to decide whether a contract exists and the terms of that contract.

oral contract

Related to oral contract: written contract

noun

Words related to oral contract

noun an agreement that is not in writing and is not signed by the parties but is a real existing contract that lacks only the formal requirement of a memorandum to render it enforceable in litigation

Related Words

agreement
understanding