Business law chp 16

Which of the following essentially says that in some cases the law will require a signed writing to prove a contract existed?

A statute of frauds

Which of the following is correct regarding the statute of frauds and what kind of writing is required?

Although the statutes of frauds of all the states are not the same, most states require only a memorandum of the parties' agreement.

The statutes of frauds adopted by states across the United States are patterned after the original statute of frauds adopted in ______ in ______.

England; 1677

Which of the following is correct regarding part performance of a contract for the sale of land?

In some cases, it can take the contract out of the coverage of the statute of frauds.

Which of the following types of contracts must be in writing because the length of the contract increases the risk of faulty or willfully inaccurate recollection of the parties' terms in subsequent disputes?

Long-term bilateral

Which section of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) serves as a statute of frauds for contracts for the sale of goods?

Section 2-201

According to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), within what period of time must a merchant buyer object to written confirmation of a contract sent by a merchant seller in order to retain the statute of frauds defense?

Ten (10) days

In addition to specially manufactured goods, the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) allows which of the following exceptions to the statute of frauds writing requirement? (Check all that apply)

The party seeking recovery has partially performed by making a significant payment The party being sued admits the existence of a contract in court

Which of the following is correct regarding whether subsequent oral modifications of contracts are enforceable?

They may sometimes be unenforceable due to lack of consideration or failure to comply with the statute of frauds.

In terms of a writing that complies with the statute of frauds, most states require only ______ of the parties' agreement.

a memorandum

A collateral contract consists of three parties and two promises, one of which is a(n)______ promise by the guarantor to the obligee which must be in writing to be enforceable.

conditional

The distinction between an original contract and a guaranty contract is important because original contracts ______.

do not need to be evidenced by a writing to be enforceable

When a person dies, a(n) _______ or a(n) ______ is appointed by the probate court to settle the decedent's estate.

executor; administrator

A collateral contract is also known as a(n) ______ contract.

guaranty

Parties who put their contracts in writing should try to make the writing as ______ and ______ as possible.

legalistic; ubiquitous

The basic standard of interpretation for ambiguous terms or language in a contract is ______ and is a question for a _______ to decide.

objective; jury

If the written agreement is silent about any conditions that must occur before it becomes effective, ______ be introduced to prove such conditions.

oral testimony can

If the written agreement is silent about the date it is to take effect, ______ be introduced to prove the date.

oral testimony can

When interpreting a contract, courts give ______ words their usual meaning and ______ words their industry meaning unless a different meaning was clearly intended.

ordinary; technical

The Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) is a proposed uniform state law that, like E-Sign, is intended to ______ by giving effect to electronic records and signatures.

remove barriers to e-commerce

An executor or administrator of a decedent's estate essentially pays all outstanding claims against the estate and then distributes any remaining monies or properties to ______.

the decedent's heirs

For statute of frauds purposes, the one-year period begins ______.

when the contract comes into existence

If the parties use a form contract, or the contract is partly printed and partly written, the ______ terms control the ______ terms if the two conflict.

written; printed

If one of the parties drafted the contract, ambiguities are resolved ______.

against the party who drafted the contract

A party can ______ introduce proof of an oral agreement made after the writing was created.

always

If the terms of the writing are unclear or ______, ______ testimony can be introduced to aid the court in interpreting the writing.

ambiguous; oral

Which of the following are rules that businesses must follow under E-Sign when seeking consumer consent to electronic contracts? (Check all that apply)

Gaining a consumer's affirmative consent to receive contractual information electronically Making clear when consumer consent is for more than a single transaction

Under E-Sign, an e-business must refrain from imposing _______ fees if the consumer can no longer receive electronic information because the business has upgraded its electronic delivery system.

consent withdrawal

If the writing is obviously incomplete, a party can introduce proof of ______ oral terms that ______ the writing.

consistent; fill the gaps in

The "one-year rule" of the statute of frauds means that a writing is not required if ______.

contract performance is possible within one year

The Uniform Commercial Code has its own statute of frauds section that applies to ______.

contracts for the sale of goods for $500 or more

If one of the parties to an oral contract has performed but the contract is unenforceable under the statute of frauds, she can recover the reasonable value of her performance ______.

in quasi contract

When a contract states a(n) ______ time for performance, the contract need not be in writing if it is ______ to perform the contract within one year.

indefinite; possible

The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign) pertains to agreements affecting ______ commerce.

interstate

Our legal system has historically treated ______ as being more important than other forms of property.

land

If a person promises to be a guarantor but is primarily motivated by a desire to secure some personal benefit, her contract falls under the ______ doctrine and is therefore outside of the statute of frauds.

leading object

If a merchant buyer receives written confirmation of a contract and does not object in writing within the time specified by the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) after receiving it, he ______.

loses the statute of frauds defense

A party is always allowed to introduce oral proof that the contract the writing represents was entered into as a result of ________. (Check all that apply)

mistake duress fraud

The original statute of frauds was adopted because at the time, when parties filed suit for a breach of contract case: ______.

neither party could not testify as evidence

Under the 'fill in the gaps' exception to the parol evidence rule, a party is ______.

never allowed to contradict or vary the written terms of the contract

Under which of the following circumstances would a court most likely conclude that part performance of a contract for the sale of land has taken the contract out of the coverage of the statute of frauds?

The buyer has made substantial improvements to the property

Why does the statute of frauds require that an executor's promise to personally pay a decedent's debts be in writing to be enforceable?

To prevent fraud

True or false: A party is allowed to introduce oral testimony that the contract is illegal.

True Reason: An exception to the parol evidence rule is oral testimony that the agreement is illegal.

True or false: Long-term bilateral contracts that call for performance over a long period of time must be in writing to be enforceable.

True Reason: Long-term bilateral contracts must be in writing because contracts that call for performance over a considerable period of time increase the risk of faulty or willfully inaccurate recollection of the parties' terms in subsequent disputes.

Unlike the ______, the United Nations Convention on the ______ does not require a writing to enforce an agreement.

Uniform Commercial Code; International Sale of Goods

Which of the following is correct regarding the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) and the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign)?

Unlike E-Sign, UETA does not offer specific rules governing when consent has been given electronically.

The parol evidence rule says that a party cannot change the terms of a written contract: ______. (Check all that apply)

by introducing terms agreed to by the parties prior to signing by introducing conversations between the parties that were contemporaneous with the signing

Generally an adequate memorandum under the statute of frauds ______.

can be contained in several documents

If Francis loans Kristof $5,000 and Kristof orally promises to repay the loan within eighteen (18) months, Francis ______.

can enforce the promise even though it is oral

The basic idea behind the parol evidence rule is that when the parties to an agreement have expressed their agreement in a(n) ______, ______ writing, the writing is the best evidence of their intent.

complete; unambiguous

Classes of contracts traditionally required to be in writing by the statute of frauds include contracts by the ______ or ______ of a deceased person's estate to ______.

executor; administrator; be personally liable for the deceased person's debt

Statutes of frauds generally apply exclusively to ______, ______ contracts that are "not capable of being performed within one year."

executory; bilateral

If one of the parties to an ______ oral contract files suit to enforce the contract and the other party does not raise the statute of frauds as a defense, the court will ______ the agreement.

executory; enforce

Statutes of frauds apply only executory bilateral contracts; therefore, most courts hold that if a contract has been ______ performed by one side, the promise of the other party is ______ even if it cannot be performed within a year.

fully; enforceable

In a collateral contract, a third person known as the ______ agrees to perform contractual duties that the ______ owes under another contract, and they are both contractually liable to the ______.

guarantor; obligor; obligee

In some cases, what would at first glance appear to be a(n) ______ within the statute of frauds will be treated as a(n) ______ contract outside the statute's scope. This is due to the ______ doctrine.

guaranty; original; leading object

The major difference between a(n) ______ contract and a guaranty contract is that in the former, the promisor is ______ liable under the terms of the contract, whereas a guarantor is _______ liable.

original; primarily; secondarily

According to the evidence rule, neither party can change the meaning of a written contract by introducing notes and conversations that existed prior to the signing of the contract.

parol

If the terms of the writing are unclear, oral testimony can be introduced to aid the court in interpreting the writing. This is an exception to the ______.

parol evidence rule

In some instances, ______ is sufficient to take the contract ______ or to satisfy the statute's requirement by providing proof of a contract's existence beyond the ______.

part performance of a contract; outside the scope of the statute of frauds; oral testimony of a party

An oral contract for the sale of goods under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is generally enforceable if the buyer partially performs by ______. (Check all that apply)

paying for the goods accepting the goods

The courts attempt to give uncertain or ambiguous terms in the the contract the meaning a person would be expected to give it in light of the surrounding facts and circumstances.

reasonable

When a lawsuit is filed asking a court to interpret an ambiguous agreement, the court will rely on ________.

rules of construction

All states generally agree that an adequate memorandum under the statute of frauds must contain at minimum the ______. (Check all that apply)

signature of the party against whom enforcement is sought subject matter of the contract identity of the parties

According to the ______, contracts transferring ownership rights in real estate ______ be evidenced by a writing to be enforceable.

statute of frauds; must

The first thing a court does when it is attempting to interpret an ambiguous contractual term is to determine ______.

the principal objective of the parties

The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-Sign) gives a digital signature _____.

the same legal effect as one written in ink on paper

If both seller and buyer are members of the same trade, courts will presume that the parties intended their contract language to reflect the _______ meaning.

trade usage

Words that are given a particular meaning in a certain trade, profession, or community are known as ______.

trade usage

In most states, the statute of frauds makes oral contracts to which it applies ________, not ______ or ______.

unenforceable; void; voidable