Legal Question in Business Law in Iowa

magazine service

i have an oral contract with a magazine company operating out of iowa. the deal is for 60 months of magazines payable in thirty months for a total of $1797.00. this company will not allow me to cancel. my question is this: does the statute of frauds apply to me, i.e. $500.00 or longer than one year to complete the deal. the oral agreement was tape recorded but no written, signed copy exists.


Asked on 7/29/02, 5:38 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Re: magazine service

Whether a tape recording satisfies the requirements of the statute of frauds is considered by treatise writers to be an undecided matter, and its treatment will vary from state to state. There is an Iowa Law Review article on the subject; see Misner, "Tape Recordings, Business Transactions via Telephone and the Statute of Frauds" 61 Iowa L.Rev. 941 (1976).

The California Supreme Court has noted that a tape recording satisfies the statute of frauds in some states, without taking an official position on whether it is sufficient here; see Donovan v. RRL Corp. (2001) 26 Cal.4th 261 at page 277.

I would advise not to rely on the Statute of Frauds as a defense. You should raise it if you are the defendant, but not with a great deal of hope that it will be an adequate defense.

Read more
Answered on 7/29/02, 6:02 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Business Law questions and answers in Iowa