Court Opinion

ID: 9720260
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 08:22:55.184772+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:14.819814
License: Public Domain

SHORT, Judge
(concurring in part, dissenting in part).
I concur insofar as the majority concludes Simplex’s promissory estoppel and fraudulent misrepresentation claims fail as a matter of law because there is no evidence Simplex relied on any representations or purchased *804any production equipment. I respectfully dissent because there is no writing sufficient to indicate the parties entered into a contract for the sale of a generic product. See Minn. Stat. § 336.2-201(1) (1996) (requiring contract for sale of goods priced at $500 or greater to be evidenced through writing). First, a general contractor’s listing of a particular subcontractor in its winning bid does not form a binding contract between a general contractor and a subcontractor. Holman Erection Co. v. Orville E. Madsen & Sons, Inc., 330 N.W.2d 693, 695 (Minn.1983).
Second, Simplex’s “combination of documents” theory was raised for the first time on appeal. Thus, this new legal argument is not properly before us. See Thiele v. Stick, 425 N.W.2d 580, 582 (Minn.1988) (stating reviewing court will not consider matters not argued or considered in court below).
And third, assuming the “combination” theory was properly raised, those four documents fail to satisfy the statute of frauds because they: (a) indicate a future, not existing, contract; (b) do not refer to or incorporate each other; and (c) contain contradictory terms. See Minn.Stat. § 336.2-201(1) (1996) (requiring writing to contain quantity term and be signed by person against whom enforcement is sought); Holmes v. Torguson, 41 F.3d 1251, 1255 (8th Cir.1994) (finding no evidence of contract where documents were written at different times and under different circumstances and do not purport to be part of single contract); Quinn-Shepardson Co. v. Triumph Farmers Elevator Co., 149 Minn. 24, 26, 182 N.W. 710, 711 (1921) (holding writing must indicate party intended to be charged with obligations of contract).
The statute of frauds bars Simplex’s contract claim as a matter of law. Under these circumstances, I would affirm the trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Abhe & Svoboda.