RATTAN AND BAMBOO SHOP, INC., APPELLANT,
v.
SHELDON RUTTER, WILLIAM J. ALLEN, CUSTOM CRAFT-PARRY INDUSTRIES, INC., APPELLEES
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The court held that an oral agreement for a business venture involving furniture design and distribution, where performance could extend beyond one year, falls within the Statute of Frauds and must be in writing.
Plaintiff orally agreed with an industrial designer to create and design a new style of rattan furniture, sharing ownership and profits. The designer …
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The plaintiff in the trial court appeals an order dismissing its complaint with prejudice. The controlling question is whether the contract sought to be enforced was an oral agreement within the Statute of Frauds (§ 725.01, Fla.Stat., F.S.A.) in that it was an “ * * * agreement that is not to be performed within the space of one year from the making thereof, * *
Plaintiff-appellant operates a rattan furniture factory. Sheldon Rutter, one of the defendants and an appellee here, is an industrial designer whom plaintiff-appellant orally agreed to work with in creating and designing a new and unique style of rattan furniture. Plaintiff was to contribute the necessary materials, factory time and employees ; Rutter was to contribute his skill. Each would retain a one-half ownership in the project. It was not alleged how the profits were to be made, but it was alleged that Rutter was to purchase the furniture from appellant and act as the exclusive distributor. The complaint sought an injunction to prevent Rutter and another defendant from manufacturing the styles in which appellant claimed a one-half interest.
The chancellor correctly dismissed the complaint under the rule stated in Yates v. Ball, 132 Fla. 132, 181 So. 341, 344:
“The general rule so stated is subject to the qualifying rule that when no *12time is agreed on for the complete performance of the contract, if from the object to be accomplished by it and the surrounding circumstances, it clearly appears that the parties intended that it should extend for a longer period than a year, it is within the statute of frauds, though it cannot be said that there is any impossibility preventing its performance within a year. 25 R.C.L. 458.”
Appellant’s remaining points have been examined and they do not present a basis for reversal.
Affirmed.
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Cent. Nat'l Bank OF Miami v. Cent. Bancorp., Inc., 411 So. 2d 358 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982)…Tobin Insurance Agency, Inc. v. Zeskind, 315 So. 2d 518 (Fla. 3d DCA 1975); Food Fair Stores, Inc. v. Vanguard Investments Co. Ltd., 298 So. 2d 515 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974), cert. denied, 305 So. 2d 209 (Fla.1974); Rattan and Bamboo Shop, Inc. v. Rutter, 147 So. 2d 11 (Fla. 3d DCA 1962), are easily distinguished in that the oral agreements in each of those cases contemplated additional affirmative activity to take place after more than one year. As the fourth point on appeal, appellant claims that appellees’ ori…
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Niagara OF Fla., Inc. v. Niagara Therapy Mfg. Corp., 231 So. 2d 277 (Fla. 2d DCA 1970)…. 132, 181 So. 341; Markowitz Bros., Inc., v. John A. Volpe Const. Co., D.C.S.D. Fla.1962, 209 F.Supp. 339; Dove Sheet Metal, Inc. v. Hays Heating & Plumbing Co., D.C.N.D.Fla.1966, 249 F.Supp. 366; Rattan & Bamboo Shop, Inc. v. Rutter, Fla.App.1962, 147 So. 2d 11; Manas v. Southern Diversified Industries, Inc., Fla.App.1967, 193 So. 2d 480; Tanenbaum v. Biscayne Osteopathic Hospital, Inc., Fla.App.1965, 173 So. 2d 492; Fla.1966, 190 So. 2d 777. Appellants contend that the Statute of Frauds is not applicable…
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Nettie Davis v. Ferraro, 303 So. 2d 407 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974)…r his arrival in Florida, which brought the matter within the prohibition of § 725.-01, Fla.Stat. There being no written memorandum of the agreement, plaintiff was not entitled to recover. See: Rattan and Bamboo Shop, Inc., v. Rutter, Fla.App. 1962, 147 So. 2d 11; Rowland v. Ewell, Fla.App.1965, 174 So. 2d 78; Tanenbaum v. Biscayne Osteopathic Hospital, Inc., Fla. 1966, 190 So. 2d 777; Manas v. Southern Diversified Industries, Inc., Fla.App. 1967, 193 So. 2d 480; Niagara of Florida, Inc. v. Niagara Therapy M…
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- Yates v. Ball, 132 Fla. 132 (Fla. 1937)