Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Missouri
Contract Law
Last year I opened a Home Depot
acct in my name so that my
boyfriend at the time could get the
funding to finish his kitchen project.
The contract was an oral agreement
w/his parents to pay off the debt in
the spring when they would
refinance that home & use the
money to clear the home depot acct.
The rates weren't great, so the debt
stayed in my name. I moved to MI
for school in the fall & his family
promised to pay the bills if i
transfered the maiing address to
their home. I did. In the past 10
months I've been here, 7 out of 10
payments were made late & they
didn't make any payments the last 2
months at all. I've had to make a
$384 payment myself so far to
protect my credit. They are now
filing for bankruptcy & are probably
not concerned about making
anymore payments even though
they reassured me they would via
email. I would like to sue them for
breach, but am concerned that the
SOF would bar me b/c its an oral
contract. Please help!!
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Contract Law
You need to file a claim with the Bankruptcy Court for what you're out. You won't get it all, but you are likely to get something.
As far as suing, once they've taken bankruptcy you'd find yourself in bankruptcy court to litigate it anyway. Contact an attorney about filing a claim in the bankruptcy.
Re: Contract Law
Normally, the statute of frauds means that to be enforceable, the promise to pay the debt of another must be in writing. However, the part performance could help you get around the statute of frauds. However, if they filed bankruptcy, then the whole matter is stayed, unless they didn't list your debt. William S. Stern