RES exam question on Contract & Agency Law: Section 6(d) of the Civil Law Act requires contracts for the sale or other disposition…
Section 6(d) of the Civil Law Act requires contracts for the sale or other disposition of land to be evidenced in writing and signed. A buyer who has paid a deposit and made improvements to a property but holds no written contract may still be able to enforce the oral agreement by relying on:
- APromissory estoppel, which waives the writing requirement
- BThe equitable doctrine of part performance
- CQuantum meruit for the value of improvements made
- DNemo dat quod non habet
Show answer & explanation
Answer
B. The equitable doctrine of part performance
Explanation
The equitable doctrine of part performance allows a party who has partly performed under an oral land contract to seek specific performance in equity, notwithstanding the s.6(d) writing requirement, where the acts of part performance are sufficiently referable to some contract relating to land. This doctrine operates in equity to prevent the statute from being used as an instrument of fraud.
Study the concept behind this question: Remedies for Breach of a Property Contract
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