$16-1$b State Legislation

Today, although each state has a statute modeled after the English act, the statutes vary slightly from state to state. All states require certain types of contracts to be in writing or evidenced by a written memorandum or an electronic record. In addition, the party or parties against whom enforcement is sought must have signed the con$-$tract, unless certain exceptions apply $($as discussed later in this chapter$).$ Recall that in the context of electronic communications, a party's name typed at the bottom of an e$-$mail can qualify as a signature.

The actual name of the Statute of Frauds is misleading because the statute does not apply to fraud. Rather, it denies enforceability to certain contracts that do not comply with its writing requirements. The primary purpose of the statute is to prevent harm to innocent parties by requiring written evidence of agreements concerning important transactions. A contract that is oral when it is required to be in writing is normally voidable by a party who later does not wish to follow through with the agreement