Giron v. Toy Estate

24 Pa. D. & C.3d 98, 1982 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 272
CourtPennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Armstrong County
DecidedNovember 16, 1982
Docketno. 0807-1976
StatusPublished

This text of 24 Pa. D. & C.3d 98 (Giron v. Toy Estate) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Armstrong County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Giron v. Toy Estate, 24 Pa. D. & C.3d 98, 1982 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 272 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1982).

Opinion

HOUSE, P.J.,

This matter is presently before the court upon agreement of the parties to preliminarily decide what effect, if any, the statute of frauds, 33 P.S. § 1 et seq. has upon a purported written agreement between plaintiff and defendant’s decedent. An evidentiary hearing on the issue of the statute of frauds was held on November 25, 1981. We have received evidence and briefs of the parties in this matter and the issue is therefore ripe for decision.

Plaintiff alleges in his complaint, as amended, that he and defendant’s decedent, Edwin W. Toy, entered into a written agreement for the sale of the “Coal Mining Business of Seller comprising coal leases together with associated and necessary bonds and permits. . .and certain equipment and accessories.” Plaintiff also alleges that defendant breached the agreement by not transferring the leases, mining permits and equipment to plaintiff. Thereafter, plaintiff brought the instant lawsuit at law for money damages resulting from the alleged breach. Specifically, plaintiff seeks to recover lost profits, value of the coal in place and the value of spare parts and equipment not transferred.

Defendant has filed an answer,new matter and counterclaim to plaintiffs complaint. In new matter defendant raises the statute of frauds. The statute of frauds provides, inter alia, that no transfer of an estate in realty is effective unless it is documented by a sufficient writing.

Plaintiffs complaint attempts to avoid the bar of the statute by pleading his cause of action in assumpsit. Indeed, as will be noted later in this [100]*100opinion, plaintiff may properly sue in assumpsit. However, if the statute of frauds then bars enforcement of the written agreement as to real estate, then the types of injuries for which plaintiff may seek recovery in assumpsit are then somewhat circumscribed. We must therefore decide the applicability of the statute of frauds to the issues raised here.

Defendant argues that coal leases constitute interests in realty and that any transfer of those interests cannot be enforced unless supported by a sufficient writing. Defendant cites Shenandoah Borough v. Philadelphia, 367 Pa. 180, 79 A. 2d 433(1951), to support the proposition that although the term “lease” is used the purported agreement relates to an interest in the land itself. In Shenandoah (supra) at 186, the court stated that:

. . . the law is long and well settled in Pennsylvania that “The grant of a right to mine coal in the lands of the lessor and remove it therefrom, although the instrument may be called a lease, is a grant of an interest in the land itself, and not a mere license to take the coal.”

Defendant also cites Smith v. Glen Alden Coal Co., 347 Pa. 290, 32 A. 2d 227(1943) and Advance Industrial Supply v. Eagle Metallic Copper Co., 267 Pa. 15, 109 A. 771(1920), for the proposition that coal leases constitute an interest in realty whether the lease is for a definite or indefinite time. These cases clearly hold that the lessee’s interest in coal leases are indeed interests in realty. Therefore, it must be determined whether the statute of frauds has been satisfied by the writing in the case at bar or if the doctrine of part performance takes this case out of the statute.

Defendant argues that the burden of proving that [101]*101the writing is in compliance with the Statute of Frauds is upon plaintiff. Defendant cites Pennsylvania Law Encyclopedia, Statute of Frauds §93 to support this contention. We believe that the P.L.E. section cited accurately states the law of Pennsylvania on this issue. In fact, plaintiff admitted at the hearing that he had the burden of proof. Therefore, we will examine the evidence to determine whether plaintiff has presented evidence sufficient to remove the bar of the statute of frauds.

Defendant argues that the writing relied upon by plaintiff does not satisfy the statute of frauds because the writing does not sufficiently describe the number or location of the subject leased lands. Defendant calls our attention to many cases standing for the principle that the description of interests in realty must be quite specific. In Hammier & Davler v. McEldowny, 46 Pa. 334(1863), the court found that the absence of street numbers and property descriptions rendered the writing unenforceable. In Barnes v. Rea, 219 Pa. 287(1908), the court held that where the land could not be located as a whole by reference to the writing, it was not specific enough to satisfy the statute.

Defendant also cites Shaw v. Cornman, 271 Pa. 260, 114 A. 632(1921) and a number of cases cited therein to support the proposition that the writing itself must contain a description “clear enough to enable a surveyor to locate the land with certainty.” In the case at bar we find no description of the leases at all. In fact, we do not even know exactly how many leases were intended to be included.

Plaintiff attempted to supply a description of the subject leases by way of parol evidence. Defendant objected to this evidence at the hearing and has argued that since the purpose of the Statute of Frauds is “to prevent the assertion of verbal under[102]*102standings in the creation of interests in land and to obviate the opportunity for fraud and perjury,” Haskell v. Heathcote, 363 Pa. 184, 188; 69 A. 2d 71(1949), parol evidence is not admissible to provide a description where the writing itself is insufficient.

Plaintiff cites Suchan v. Swope, 357 Pa. 16, 53 A. 2d 116(1947) in an attempt to counter defendant’s argument. In Suchan, the description “my farm” was held to satisfy the statute of frauds. However, Suchan (supra) is clearly distinguishable from the case at bar. There is a fundamental difference between the degree of specificity we should require when dealing with something tangible and immutable, such as a farm, as opposed to something intangible such as coalleases. In Suchan, the subject property was easily identifiable. In the case at bar, even if we considered plaintiffs evidence, we can not be sure as to the quantity of the property subject to the writing.

Plaintiff also cites Feld v. Shapiro, 87 Pa. Superior Ct. 557(1926) and Shaw (supra) as authority for the proposition that parol evidence may be used to cure a defect that otherwise bars the enforcement of an agreement by reason of the statute of frauds.

However, Feld (supra) pertained to the use of parol evidence to remedy a defective description of a house. In that case, the agreement of sale used a term of description that would probably satisfy the statute of frauds; however, the street number was inaccurately stated in the writing, and the vendee attempted to avoid the contract on the basis of the “indefiniteness” of the agreement. In that case, the court found that the description of the property was quite definite albeit incorrect. In the case at bar we are not dealing with a mistake in an otherwise suffi[103]*103cient description. Instead, we must decide whether the description itself is sufficient.

In Shaw, several documents made up a sufficient description of the property. In that case the court found it unnecessary to decide whether the language “the place you now occupy” satisfied the statute in light of a later written communication identifying the property.

These cases seem to hold that parol evidence is admissible to cure mistakes in an otherwise sufficient description.

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Related

Perry v. Wagner
74 A.2d 665 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1950)
Shenandoah Borough v. Philadelphia
79 A.2d 433 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1951)
Brotman v. Brotman
46 A.2d 175 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1946)
Smith v. Glen Alden Coal Co.
32 A.2d 227 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1943)
Haskell v. Heathcote
69 A.2d 71 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1949)
Suchan Et Ux. v. Swope
53 A.2d 116 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1947)
Moyer v. Moyer
51 A.2d 708 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1947)
Feld v. Shapiro
87 Pa. Super. 557 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1925)
Byrne's Estate
186 A. 187 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1936)
White v. McKnight
143 S.E. 552 (Supreme Court of South Carolina, 1928)
Moore v. Small
19 Pa. 461 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1852)
Hammer & Dauler v. McEldowney
46 Pa. 334 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1863)
Barnes v. Rea
68 A. 839 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1908)
Advance Industrial Supply Co. v. Eagle Metallic Copper Co.
109 A. 771 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1920)
Shaw v. Cornman
114 A. 632 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1921)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
24 Pa. D. & C.3d 98, 1982 Pa. Dist. & Cnty. Dec. LEXIS 272, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/giron-v-toy-estate-pactcomplarmstr-1982.