Originally published by Matthew DeVries on Best Practices Construction Law blog.
Recently, a court addressed the question about whether a text message can constitute a writing sufficient under the Statute of Frauds to create an enforceable contract.
In St. John’s Holdings, LLC v. Two Electronics, LLC, the Massachusetts’ Land Court concluded (in what appears to be a case of first impression) that a string of text messages can constitute a writing under the Statute of Frauds sufficient to bind the parties to sell certain property.
The court concluded that the text message from Seller’s agent was a writing that, read in the context of the email exchanges between the parties, contained sufficient terms to state a binding contract between Seller and Buyer. In addition, the court found that the final text message contained a valid electronic signature to be “signed” within the meaning of the law.
Although this case deals with the purchase of real property, which is subject to the Statute of Frauds, there are many lessons for the modern construction project.
(more on how this case affects the construction industry...)
