Legal Question in Business Law in California

Verbal contracts can be binding. Whether a particular verbal contract actually *is* binding will depend upon what it says and other circumstances. Even if it is a valid contract, you may have legitimate reasons to terminate it. And even if you don't, the teacher may not be in a position to enforce it. Feel free to contact me if you want to discuss your situation further.

Actually, you can enter into a contract in many ways without a signed, written contract. The legal key is to unequivocally accept the terms of any offer, which can be done (1) orally ("I agree and will do it."), or (2) performance (You perform as requested by the person offering consideration for same, e.g. a reward offer.), or (3) even by silence, if this is the custom between particular parties (You routinely allow a vendor to leave certain supplies in your shop.).

Although an oral contract is just as valid as a written agreement, there can be real problems proving its existence or its terms, when in dispute. Hint: "An oral contract is as good as the paper it's written on." Or: "It's her word against his." The other significant difference between oral and written contracts in California is that the time to sue for breach of an oral contract is shorter, i.e. two years, rather than four years, for written contracts.

There are some exceptions in California (the biggest being real estate transactions) of contracts that cannot be enforced without a writing. See, California Civil Code section 1624.

Taken from my blog here: http://bealbusinesslaw.blogspot.com/2009_09_01_archive.html#uds-search-results

Proviso: The above information does not constitute legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship between us.

Contact: If you would like to discuss this matter further in a more private forum, please feel free to contact me directly at [email protected].