Seaman supplied fuel for ships and needed a long-term supply contract with a maj

Question

Seaman supplied fuel for ships and needed a long-term supply contract with a major oil company. In a letter dated October 11, Standard Oil offered Seaman a ten-year supply contract with three ten-year options for renewal. The letter made no mention of quantity requirements, price, particulars of performance, or other material terms. Seaman signed the letter indicating his acceptance of Standard’s offer. When Standard later said it could not supply fuel, Seaman sued. Standard raised the defense of the statute of frauds. Is the October 11 letter a signed writing sufficient to satisfy the statute of frauds? Explain.

Explanation / Answer

In the case, the letter dated October 11 from Standard Oil to Seaman offered Seaman a contract in the written form which gave him a 10 year contract between them. Since the latter is a written form and any contract that is either in oral or written form, even when it is not formal cannot be sufficient to satisfy the statute of frauds. In this case, even though the amount of oil that would be supplied and other necessary details were not mentioned, since the parties agreed to the contract in the written form, it cannot be considered as a means to statute of frauds.

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