Written Contracts

Essay by mna03University, Bachelor'sA+, April 2012

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Written Contracts

Sawyer v. Mills is an excellent example for the Statue of Frauds related to agreements that cannot be performed within one year. The contract must be signed by the defendant himself in order for it to be enforced. This particular case revolves around the class action suit filed against the drug "Fen Phen." Mrs. Sawyer assisted Mr. Mills in this suit and was promised a large bonus when they hit jackpot with the suit. However, when the time came, 'hourly employees such as Sawyer received a bonus equal to two weeks' wages. Sawyer's bonus was $1,300' (Sawyer v. Mills). The Sawyers were unhappy with the amount and set up a meeting with Mr. Mills. After hours of convincing, both parties agreed on a sum of $1,065,000 to be given to Mrs. Sawyer. This meeting had been recorded on tape by the Sawyers without Mr. Mills's knowledge.

Both parties also agreed to draw up a contract to confirm this agreement; however once it was on paper Mr. Mills refused to sign on it.

While Mr. Mills refused to sign any written agreements, he did however make payments to Mrs. Sawyer summing up to $165,000. 'The last payment was paid on February 7, 2002, and Mills informed Sawyer in March that he was terminating her employment at the end of the month' (Sawyer v. Mills). Once in court, the jurors initially ruled in favor of Mrs. Sawyer and granted her a sum of $900,000. Mr. Mills, on the other hand, convinced the court to grant him a JNOV as his verdict and succeeded to which Mrs. Sawyer Appealed. She emphasized on the audio recording she made, as her defense for an existing contract with Mills. While the Court reconsidered the jurors' decision, they realized that the tape was...