Opinion ID: 1347954
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Does a Part Performance Exception to the Statute of Frauds Apply?

Text: ¶ 7 Because this cause concerns a contract for the sale of an interest in real property, the statute of frauds, 15 O.S.1991 § 136(5), applies. Unless the contract is outside the statute of frauds, the statute's requirements as to signature and contents must be satisfied with respect to each party to be charged. Partial performance of a contract can in some instances take a contract outside the statute of frauds. ¶ 8 Smith v. Lawson, 1956 OK 311, 307 P.2d 141, 144 holds, the statute of frauds is inapplicable to a case where an oral contract has been completely performed except for the payment of the purchase price. Plaintiff contends that the only remaining portion of the contract to be completed was payment of the purchase price, in the form of honoring the sight draft. Smith specifically relies on the reasoning of MacThwaite Oil & Gas Co. v. Schulte, 123 Okla. 231, 253 P. 53 (1925). Both MacThwaite and Smith were situations in which the vendee accepted the conveyance and the only remaining performance was payment of the purchase price. MacThwaite, 253 P. at 55; Smith, 307 P.2d at 145. The MacThwaite court, illustrating the importance of the vendee's acceptance of the conveyance, stated: We take it that defendants could have repudiated this contract, because of the statute of frauds, at any time before the acceptance by the defendants of this assignment. MacThwaite, 253 P. at 55. Likewise, the Smith court noted defendant-buyer had undertaken certain steps which constituted her acceptance of the original assignment in addition to making partial payment and placing that payment in escrow. Unlike Smith and MacThwaite, this case had not only the payment of the purchase price remaining, but the purchaser's acceptance of the conveyance as well. ¶ 9 Cloud v. Winn, 1956 OK 267, 303 P.2d 305 also considered the issue of part performance in evaluating the validity of a partly written, partly oral contract for the sale of an interest in an oil and gas lease. The buyer delivered the assignment of the interest to a third party with directions to give the assignment to the buyer when payment was made. Id. These acts of performance were not enough to take the contract outside the statute of frauds. Id. at 312. Similarly, in McCaleb v. McKinley, 80 Okla. 38, 194 P. 105 (1920), the court acknowledged part performance can take a contract outside the statute of frauds, but said preparation and delivery of the necessary deeds or abstract of title was not sufficient. See also Harris v. Arthur, 36 Okla. 33, 127 P. 695, 695-96 (1912). ¶ 10 The part performance which was present here, namely the execution and delivery of the mineral deed, is not enough to circumvent the statute of frauds. See Id.; McCaleb v. McKinley, 194 P. at 106. As a result, the instant case is still within and subject to the statute's requirements.