The General Obligations Law provides, in pertinent part, that an agreement is void if it is not in writing and "subscribed by the party to be charged therewith" (General Obligations Law § 5-701[a]) when the agreement "[i]s a contract to pay compensation for services rendered in negotiating . . . a business opportunity" (General Obligations Law § 5-701[a][10]). The memorandum necessary to satisfy the statute of frauds may be pieced together out of separate writings, connected with one another either expressly or by the internal evidence of subject matter and occasion. An unsigned writing may be read together with the signed writings, provided that they clearly refer to the same subject matter or transaction.
Part performance does not take the matter out of the statute of frauds. The exception to the statute of frauds for part performance has not been extended to General Obligations Law § 5-701.
Case: Kelly v. P & G Ventures 1, LLC, NY Slip Op 02026 (2d Dep't March 22, 2017)
Here is the decision.
Monday's issue: Judicial review of a prenuptial agreement.
