Dear Lawyer Mark:

My girlfriend and I were buying a house from someone that used to be a buddy of mine. He got it when his mom died, and it was in bad shape.

We agreed on the price, and he said he would knock off $10,000 because we needed to put on a roof and get new air conditioning for it, as well as all the other problems. We have paid every month like we were supposed to, but now that the roof and air conditioner is done, and the other problems fixed, he said he changed his mind, and wants the house for himself.

He said he talked to his lawyer about some “statute of frogs,” and because we never signed anything, he doesn’t have to sell it to us. He told us he’s gonna take us to court to evict us. What can we do?
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— Homeowner in Hamilton

Dear Homeowner:

You need to speak to your family lawyer immediately. Most agreements are enforceable under contract law, even if they are oral agreements.

However, the law that your “buddy” was talking about is the “Statute of Frauds,” and is contained in Ohio Revised Code section 1335.05. In general, this law says that some contracts are so important, or controversial, that to be enforced they must be in writing and signed by the defendant.

Among these contracts are guaranties, where a person promises to pay someone else’s debt if they can’t; contracts that will take longer than a year to complete; the promise of an executor of an estate to use personal funds to pay the debt of an estate; and, as in your case, contracts for the sale of land.

Even though your case is covered by the statute, case law over the years has created some exceptions to the courts strictly enforcing the statute. One of those exceptions is whether one party to the agreement has substantially performed his obligations under the contract.

Because you paid substantial monies to put on a new roof, replace the HVAC unit, and fix the other problems, as well as made all your monthly payments, the court could view the contract as being enforceable, even though there is no written contract. The court looks at these types of cases on a case-by-case basis, as to how much work you had to do, and how much money you put into it.

Incidentally, Ohio does have at least two statutes on “frogs”: RC 4955.35 says that railroad companies must block all frogs (part of the turnout that allows a train to switch from one track to another) so that people can’t get their feet stuck in them, and RC 5.034 makes the bullfrog the official frog of the State of Ohio.

Thought for the Week: “Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it.” E. B. White

It’s The Law is written by attorney Mark K. McCown in response to legal questions received by him.
If you have a question, please forward it to Mark K. McCown, 311 Park Avenue, Ironton, Ohio 45638, or e-mail it to him at LawyerMark@yahoo.com. The right to condense and/or edit all questions is reserved.