Peterson vs Paxton-Pavey Lumber Co.

Supreme Court of Florida, 1931

Justice C.J. Buford:

Facts: An owner hired a contractor to construct a building on his property. The contractor ordered
material from a lumber vendor, but defaulted on making the payments in a timely manner. The owner
went to the vendor to ask why material had not been delivered, and was told of the failure to make
payments by the contractors. The owner guaranteed a payment of $1,000 on the account, and allegedly
promised to pay the balance of the material furnished, which totaled $390.47 of material supplied after
that date. However, at the end of the transaction, the contractor owed the plaintiff $1,422.69, which,
plus interest, is the amount the owner was sued for by the vendor (for a total of $1,678.77).

Issue: Did the defendant (owner) agree to pay the full remainder of the contractor’s bill, or did he only
agree to pay for the material furnished for the job on his property?

Holding: The defendant only agreed to pay for the material furnished for the job on his property, and
thus owes only that balance (with interest).

Rationale: The law of sales, which includes part of the Statute of Frauds, is relevant in this situation, and
can be found in Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code. A contract for the sale of goods exceeding
$500 is not enforceable unless the contract is in writing and signed by the party whom enforcement is
being sought against, thus indicating intent of that party to pay the amount sought. Several provisions
excuse the requirement of a written contract in the sale of goods. If goods are specifically manufactured
for the buyer and are of use to no other customer (and the manufacturing has already begun to a
substantial degree), if the defendant agrees that a contract has been made (limited to the value of the
quantity of goods admitted), and if payment has been made or accepted, then the contract may be
enforceable, even if not in writing. However, none of these conditions are applicable in this case.
Therefore, since the contract is not in writing, the full debt of the contractor cannot be assumed by the
defendant, and thus all that is owed by the owner is the $390.47 (plus interest), which is the value of the
material furnished for the project on his property.