Simple contract

In contract law,^[1] a simple contract is a contract made orally, in writing, or both, rather than a contract made under seal.^[2] Simple contracts require consideration to be valid,^[3] but simple contracts may be implied from the conduct of parties bound by the contract.^[4] William Blackstone observed in his Commentaries on the Laws of England that in the seventeenth century, debtors used simple contracts as one of three accepted forms of unsecured debt instruments.^[5] In 1828, the Parliament of the United Kingdom amended the statute of frauds so that oral acknowledgments or promises could not be used as evidence to prove the existence of a simple contract.^[6] Today, some American jurisdictions have established that a security interest is perfected "when a creditor on a simple contract cannot acquire a judicial lien that is superior to the interest" of the secured party.^[7]

See also

• New England Mutual Life Insurance Co. v. Woodworth
• Company seal

References

1. Jack Beatson, Anson’s Law of Contract 73 (2002) ("English law does not regard a bare promise or agreement as legally enforceable but recognises only two kinds of contract, the contract made by deed, and the simple contract.").
2. David M. Walker, The Oxford Companion to Law 1144 (1980) (describing a "simple contract" as a "contract made not under seal, but orally or in writing").
3. Jack Beatson, Anson’s Law of Contract 73 (2002).
4. Black's Law Dictionary, Simple Contract (Accessed July 24, 2015).
5. George Lee Flint, Jr.& Marie Juliet Alfaro, Secured Transactions History: The Impact of Southern Staple Agriculture on The First Chattel Mortgage Acts in The Anglo-American World, 30 Ohio N.U.L. Rev. 537, 545 (2004) (citing 2 William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 465 (Chicago, Callaghan & Co. 1879)).
6. Statute of Frauds Amendment Act 1828, 9 Geo 4 c 14 (1828).
7. Timothy R. Zinnecker, Purchase Money Security Interests in the Preference Zone: Questions Answered and Questions Raised by the 1994 Amendments to Bankruptcy Code § 547, 62 Mo. L. Rev. 47, 84 (1997) (internal quotations omitted).