Opinion ID: 792706
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Determining Assent Absent Signing

Text: 22 The Connecticut Supreme Court has held that [a] contract is not made so long as, in the contemplation of the parties, something remains to be done to establish the contractual relation. Klein v. Chatfield, 166 Conn. 76, 80, 347 A.2d 58, 61 (1974). The parties' intent is determined from the (1) language used, (2) circumstances surrounding the transaction, including the motives of the parties, and (3) purposes which they sought to accomplish. Id.; see Wellington Sys., Inc. v. Redding Group, Inc., 49 Conn.App. 152, 160-61, 714 A.2d 21, 27 (1998) (same). 23 The parties do not cite Klein or the factors it described, but rather dispute the four common law factors we identified in Ciaramella and Winston v. Mediafare Entm't Corp., 777 F.2d 78, 80 (2d Cir.1985). These factors ordinarily guide our inquiry into whether parties intend to be bound in the absence of an executed writing, and they are similar, though not identical, to the factors laid out in Klein. While we doubt that the Winston factors — which derive from the Restatement (Second) of Contracts, a source frequently relied on by Connecticut courts, see, e.g., Updike, Kelly & Spellacy, P.C. v. Beckett, 269 Conn. 613, 662-64, 850 A.2d 145, 176-77 (2004); Mandell v. Gavin, 262 Conn. 659, 668-69, 816 A.2d 619, 624-25 (2003) — are incompatible with Klein, we think the Klein factors are applicable in this diversity case. See Wellington Sys., Inc., 49 Conn.App. at 161, 714 A.2d at 27 (relying on Klein to determine whether a contract had been formed in the absence of a formal written agreement). Therefore, in evaluating the district court's conclusion that OSA assented to the contract without signing, we follow the factors set forth in Klein (i.e., we consider OSA's motives and purposes in negotiating the agreement, the language used in the agreement, and the circumstances of its execution) — mindful, of course, that we may only reverse the district court's judgment if we find clear error.