Opinion ID: 516920
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Summary Judgment Was Properly Granted

Text: 41 The district court granted summary judgment to appellee, after having found 1) that the July 30 Documents were insufficient to satisfy the statute of frauds, and, even if sufficient, 2) that this evidence was inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 408. In short, the district court concluded that appellants failed to demonstrate that there existed any admissible memorandum of agreement sufficient to support appellants' claims. 42 The appellants' opposition to The Limited's motion for summary judgment was largely based on the July 30 Documents, which, they contended, were sufficient to satisfy the statute of frauds. With the exclusion of the July 30 Documents, appellants offered no basis upon which to meet the requirements of the statute of frauds. 1 Evidence of a written agreement sufficient to meet the statute of frauds was an essential element of appellants' case and, having failed to designate 'specific facts showing there [was] a genuine issue for trial'  regarding that element, appellants failed in their burden of production. See Celotex Corp., 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553; see also id. at 331-32, 106 S.Ct. at 2557-58 (Brennan, J., dissenting). Addressing a similar issue, a New York court stated: 43 The defendant's parol recitation of the ... contract ... was not admissible, as the Statute of Frauds requires a writing for any contract concerning the sale of goods in excess of $500 to be enforced. In light of the failure of the defendant to submit evidentiary proof in admissible form ..., it has not made a sufficient showing to defeat the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment. 44 Lighting Horizons, Inc. v. E.A. Kahn & Co., 120 A.D.2d 648, 649, 502 N.Y.S.2d 398, 399 (2d Dep't 1986) (citations omitted). The district court was correct, therefore, in awarding summary judgment in favor of The Limited.