LAWS104 Study Guide - Final Guide: Estoppel, Oral Contract
22 May 2018
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CONTRACTS EXAM NOTES
i. THE REQUIREMENT OF WRITING
- No general requirement for contracts to be written
- Some contracts need to be in writing, either because of statute or because they are
formal contracts
- Written contracts promote certainty
- Contracts required to be in writing
o May be valid if oral but are unenforceable
o Must be varied in writing
o May be discharged verbally
Contracts relating to land
- Statute of Frauds 1677 (UK) → requirement that certain contracts be in writing
- Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW)
o S54A: contracts for sale of land must be in writing
▪ Memorandum or note
▪ Material notes
▪ Signature
▪ Authorised agent
- Welsh v Gatchell
o An agreement for the sale of land was agreed over a hand shake. The court
held that there was a contract but it was not enforceable as there was no
signature
- Wakeham v Mackenzie
o Wakeham was promised that if she moved in with a man (Ball) and looked
after him, then she would inherit the house after he died. Ball assured
Wakeham that this had been written down, but it had not. The court held that
Ball’s conduct amounted to equitable fraud, and they enforced the oral
conduct
Exceptions to the Requirement of Writing
- Fraud
- Doctrine of part performance
Doctrine of Part Performance
- An equitable principle that allows a court to recognise and enforce an oral contract
despite its legal deficiencies
- Rules
o Acts must be done by partly seeking to rely on doctrine, or his/her authorised
agent (McBride v Sandland)
o Acts done by plaintiff were permitted, but not necessarily required to be done
by the terms of the oral agreement (Regent v Millett)
o Act of part performance must be unequivocal, and in their own nature
referable to a contract of the general nature of the alleged oral agreement
(McBride v Sandland)
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Document Summary
Contracts exam notes: the requirement of writing. No general requirement for contracts to be written. Some contracts need to be in writing, either because of statute or because they are formal contracts. Contracts required to be in writing: may be valid if oral but are unenforceable, must be varied in writing, may be discharged verbally. Statute of frauds 1677 (uk) requirement that certain contracts be in writing. Conveyancing act 1919 (nsw: s54a: contracts for sale of land must be in writing, memorandum or note, material notes, signature, authorised agent. Welsh v gatchell: an agreement for the sale of land was agreed over a hand shake. The court held that there was a contract but it was not enforceable as there was no signature. Wakeham v mackenzie: wakeham was promised that if she moved in with a man (ball) and looked after him, then she would inherit the house after he died.
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