Which Connecticut contracts must be in a signed writing, and how far does the one-year clause reach?
Under § 52-550(a) no civil action may be maintained, unless the agreement or a memorandum of it is in writing and signed by the party to be charged or its agent, on: an executor's or administrator's special promise to answer damages out of his own property; a special promise to answer for the debt, default or miscarriage of another; an agreement made upon consideration of marriage; an agreement for the sale of real property or any interest in or concerning real property; an agreement that is not to be performed within one year from its making; or an agreement for a loan exceeding $50,000. The section does not apply to a parol lease of real property for one year or less under which the premises have been or are actually occupied (§ 52-550(b)). The one-year clause is read narrowly: a contract is not within it unless its terms are so drawn that it cannot by any possibility be performed fully within one year, and an oral contract that does not say, in express terms, that performance is to have a specific duration beyond one year is as a matter of law the functional equivalent of a contract of indefinite duration and outside the statute (C. R. Klewin, Inc. v. Flagship Properties, Inc.).
The trap
The list includes a loan agreement over $50,000, which must be in a writing signed by the party to be charged or its agent. Conversely, an oral agreement for work that will obviously take years is outside the one-year clause unless its terms expressly fix a duration beyond one year (Klewin: such a contract is outside the statute 'regardless of how long completion of performance will actually take'); Klewin construed only the one-year clause, not the other five categories. Klewin answered the second certified question in the negative: a contract is outside the one-year clause unless its terms make performance within a year impossible. Where the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act applies (it covers only transactions between parties who have agreed to conduct them electronically, and §§ 1-266 to 1-286 'do not apply to a transaction to the extent it is governed by' a law governing the creation and execution of wills, codicils or testamentary trusts or, except to the extent § 1-281 provides, the Uniform Commercial Code other than § 42a-1-306 and articles 2 and 2A of title 42a), an electronic record and signature satisfy a law requiring a writing and a signature (§ 1-272). Section 1-268(c) and (d) add further exclusions (certain consumer notices, among them notice of default, acceleration, repossession, foreclosure or eviction under a credit agreement secured by, or a rental agreement for, a primary residence, and the rules of court practice and procedure under the Connecticut Practice Book), while § 1-268(e) pulls an excluded record or signature back in to the extent a law other than those specified governs it. The goods-contract statute of frauds (§ 42a-2-201) is not in our published statutes.
10 authorities
- statuteConn. Gen. Stat. § 52-550enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
No civil action may be maintained in the following cases unless the agreement, or a memorandum of the agreement, is made in writing and signed by the party, or the agent of the party, to be charged: (1) Upon any agreement to charge any executor or administrator, upon a special promise to answer damages out of his own property; (2) against any person upon any special promise to answer for the debt, default or miscarriage of another; (3) upon any agreement made upon consideration of marriage; (4) upon any agreement for the sale of real property or any interest in or concerning real property; (5) upon any agreement that is not to be performed within one year from the making thereof; or (6) upon any agreement for a loan in an amount which exceeds fifty thousand dollars.
- case220 Conn. 569C. R. Klewin, Inc. v. Flagship Properties, Inc.Conn.decided 1991read it at the source ↗
The words that state the rule
“It is the law of this state, as it is elsewhere, that a contract is not within this clause of the statute unless its terms are so drawn that it cannot by any possibility be performed fully within one year.” (Emphasis added.) Burkle v. Superflow Mfg. Co., supra, 492.
- case220 Conn. 569C. R. Klewin, Inc. v. Flagship Properties, Inc.Conn.decided 1991read it at the source ↗
The words that state the rule
We therefore hold that an oral contract that does not say, in express terms, that performance is to have a specific duration beyond one year is, as a matter of law, the functional equivalent of a contract of indefinite duration for the purposes of the statute of frauds. Like *584 a contract of indefinite duration, such a contract is enforceable because it is outside the proscriptive force of the statute regardless of how long completion of performance will actually take. The first certified question is answered “yes.” The second certified question is answered “no.”
- statuteConn. Gen. Stat. § 1-272enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
A record or signature may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because the record or signature is in electronic form. (b) A contract may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because an electronic record was used in the formation of the contract. (c) If a law requires a record to be in writing, an electronic record satisfies the law. (d) If a law requires a signature, an electronic signature satisfies the law.
- statuteConn. Gen. Stat. § 52-550enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
This section shall not apply to parol agreements for hiring or leasing real property, or any interest therein, for one year or less, in pursuance of which the leased premises have been or are actually occupied by the lessee, or any person claiming under him, during any part of the term.
- statuteConn. Gen. Stat. § 1-270enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
Sections 1-266 to 1-286 , inclusive, apply only to transactions between parties each of which has agreed to conduct transactions by electronic means. Whether the parties agree to conduct a transaction by electronic means is determined from the context of the transaction and surrounding circumstances, including the parties' conduct.
- statuteConn. Gen. Stat. § 1-268enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
Sections 1-266 to 1-286 , inclusive, do not apply to a transaction to the extent it is governed by: (1) A law governing the creation and execution of wills, codicils or testamentary trusts; or (2) Except to the extent provided in section 1-281 , the Uniform Commercial Code, other than section 42a-1-306 and articles 2 and 2A of title 42a.
- statuteConn. Gen. Stat. § 1-268enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
Unless a notice is subject to the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 USC 7003, sections 1-266 to 1-286 , inclusive, do not apply to a notice to the extent that it is governed by a law requiring the furnishing of: (A) Notice of the cancellation or termination of utility services, including water, heat, gas, cable television or other services, oil, telephone and electric power; (B) Notice of default, acceleration, repossession, foreclosure or eviction, or the right to cure, under a credit agreement secured by, or a rental agreement for, a primary residence of an individual; (C) Notice of the cancellation or termination of health insurance or benefits or life insurance benefits, excluding annuities; (D) Notice of the recall of a product, or the material failure of a product, that risks endangering health or safety; or (E) Any document required to accompany any transportation or handling of hazardous materials, pesticides or other toxic or dangerous materials.
- statuteConn. Gen. Stat. § 1-268enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
Sections 1-266 to 1-286 , inclusive, do not apply to any of the rules of court practice and procedure under the Connecticut Practice Book.
- statuteConn. Gen. Stat. § 1-268enactment date not established
The words that state the rule
Sections 1-266 to 1-286 , inclusive, apply to an electronic record or electronic signature otherwise excluded from the application of sections 1-266 to 1-286 , inclusive, under subsection (b), (c) or (d) of this section to the extent that the electronic record or electronic signature is governed by a law other than those specified in subsection (b), (c) or (d) of this section.
“Defective” means that reading found something to correct. What you are reading is the rule as it stands after that reading.