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42 Tex. Tech L. Rev. 913 (2009-2010)
Reliance on Oral Promises: Statute of Frauds and Promissory Estoppel

handle is hein.journals/text42 and id is 921 raw text is: RELIANCE ON ORAL PROMISES: STATUTE OF FRAUDS AND PROMISSORY ESTOPPEL David G. Epstein,* Ryan D. Starbird,** and Joshua C. Vincent I. PROMISSORY ESTOPPEL ...................................................................... 915 A. Elements of Promissory Estoppel ................................................. 915 B. Origin of the Term Promissory Estoppel ...................................... 916 C. Restatement of Contracts' Concept of Promissory E stopp el ........................................................................................ 9 16 D. Restatement § 90 Not Restatement of the Law of Reported Cases a the Tim e ........................................................................... 919 1. Simply a Defensive Doctrine .................................................. 921 2. Not a Real Contract ............................................................... 924 E. Restatement § 90 Becoming the Law ............................................ 926 II. STATUTE OF FRAUDS ........................................................................... 927 A . B asics ............................................................................................ 927 B. Part Performance Exception ........................................................ 930 C. Oral Promises to Put an Oral Agreement in Writing and Estoppel to Plead the Statute of Frauds ....................................... 933 III. STATUTE OF FRAUDS AND PROMISSORY ESTOPPEL AND RESTATEMENT SECOND § 139 ............................................................. 935 A. Statute of Frauds and Promissory Estoppel ................................. 935 1. Reliance on a Promise to Execute a Writing and Promissory Estoppel .............................................................. 935 2. Reliance on the Promise within the Statute of Frauds and Promissory Estoppel .............................................................. 935 B. Statute of Frauds and Restatement (Second) § 139 ...................... 937 IV . C ON CLU SION ....................................................................................... 941 Reliance on oral promises is the basis not only for law school hypotheticals but also for real world litigation. Consider the following hypothetical based on the 1970 Supreme Court of Hawaii decision in McIntosh * Professor of Law, Dedman School of Law, Southern Methodist University, counsel Haynes and Boone. After August 1, I will be teaching at the University of Richmond Law School where I hope to have students as able and hard-working as Ryan and Josh. I am listed as the first author because, as is my custom, I have chosen co-authors whose names begin with letters that come after E in the alphabet. Readers, particularly readers looking to hire a new lawyer to start in the fall of 2011, should understand that Ryan's name and Josh's name belong right up there with mine as co-authors. They did more and better work on this Article than I did on some books that I have been listed as co-authoring. * Second year law student, Dedman School of Law, Southern Methodist University. *** Second year law student, Dedman School of Law, Southern Methodist University.

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