Contract Law

The Statute of Frauds was enacted in England in 1677, and it has been adopted in one form or another by all 50 states. In order to prevent fraud on the part of either party in the exchange of goods, the statute requires a written contract for: one, the sale of land; two, the assumption of the obligations of another party, such as the co-signing of a loan; three, transactions that take more than one year to complete; and four, sale of personal property for more than $5,000 (under the Uniform Commercial Code, discussed below, the threshold is $500).