Is a verbal contract legal in Washington concerning a fishing vessel's owner and a crewmen?
Full Question:
Answer:
Oral contracts can be just as valid and enforceable as written contracts.
However, the law requires that certain contracts must be in writing in order
to be enforceable by a Court. The state statutes that require certain
contracts to be in writing are called statutes of fraud. Statutes of fraud
require that either the contract itself be in writing and signed by both parties
or there must be a sufficient memorandum of the agreement signed by the
party being sued for breach of contract.
In Washington, an employment contract generally must be in writing if, by its
own terms, it cannot be performed within one year. The emphasis is on
whether the oral agreement can possibly be performed within a year. For
example, Thus, an oral agreement to hire the your neighbor's kid to mow
your lawn for the next three months is a valid and binding contract — it can
(and will) be performed within a year. The same agreement for an 18-
month period, however, is not binding unless in writing. Likewise, an oral
agreement to employ a new associate until the end of the year is a valid and
binding contract because, no matter when you made the agreement, it can
be performed within a year or less. On the other hand, an employment
contract for a fixed period of more than a year must be in writing even if the
employer has the option to fire the employee in less than a year's time.
