WILHELM & ASSOC V ORCHARDS GOLF LTD PARTNERSHIPS
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
WILHELM & ASSOCIATES,
UNPUBLISHED
December 15, 1998
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v
No. 202541
Wayne Circuit Court
LC No. 96-632802 CK
THE ORCHARDS GOLF LIMITED
PARTNERSHIP,
Defendant-Appellee.
Before: Gribbs, P.J., and Sawyer and Doctoroff. JJ.
DOCTOROFF, J. (concurring).
I agree with the result reached by the majority. However, I write separately because I believe
that we should adopt a judicial admission exception to the statute of frauds.
Jurisdictions recognizing a judicial admission exception to the writing requirement of the statute
of frauds hold that an admission of a contract made during a judicial proceeding renders the statute of
frauds inoperable. Timberlake v Heflin, 180 W Va 644, 648; 379 SE2d 149, 153 (1989). The
exception has been construed to include parol admissions in depositions or in open court. Timberlake,
supra, 379 SE2d 153. The exception is justified on the basis that it furthers the purpose of the statute
of frauds, which is to prevent the fraudulent enforcement of unmade contracts, not the legitimate
enforcement of contracts that were in fact made. Id.
Our legislature has provided a judicial admission exception to the requirement that a contract for
the sale of goods be in writing. MCL 440.2201(3)(b); MSA 19.2201(3)(b). I see no reason why the
exception should not apply in other instances where a party against whom the enforcement of a contract
is sought admits in a pleading, deposition, or in open court, that a contract was, in fact, made.
However, I agree with the majority’s conclusion that, even if we were to adopt a judicial
admission exception, the admission made by defendant in the instant case would not satisfy the
exception. Ronald Dalby’s statement “I’ll take care of you,” did not indicate the existence of a
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contract or any of the essential terms of a contract. Accordingly, I agree with the majority’s conclusion
that defendant's motion for summary disposition was properly granted.
/s/ Martin M. Doctoroff
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