J.T. Tidwell entered into an oral contract with Robert Anthony for the purchase of 100 head of cattle at a price of $500 each. When the oral contract was made, Tidwell gave Anthony a check for $1,000 as "earnest money or good faith money towards the purchase of the cattle." Anthony sold the cattle to someone else. Tidwell sued, asking the court to either compel Anthony to perform the contract or to pay damages that Tidwell suffered from the alleged breach of contract. What issues do you see and how would you resolve those issues?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Cattle are goods. The Statute of Frauds requires all contracts involving the sale of goods with a purchase price of $500 or more to be in writing with the defendant's signature. Here the purchase price is $50,000, so the agreement falls within the Statute of Frauds and is unenforceable unless one of the exceptions applies. A relevant exception for Tidwell is the "Goods delivered or paid for" exception. As Tidwell paid $1,000 towards the purchase price, he is entitled to two head of cattle.