Central Ceilings, Inc. v. National Amusements, Inc.
Massachusetts Appeals Court
839 N.E.2d 12 (Mass. App. Ct. 2005)
Subcontractor Central Ceilings (plaintiff) was hired to do carpentry work by general contractor Old Colony on a theater complex owned by National Amusements (defendant); when Old Colony fell behind paying Central, National, eager to keep the project on schedule for its Labor Day opening and aware that Central's specialized skill and project familiarity made it uniquely able to finish in time, personally promised to pay the amount Old Colony owed Central. Central continued working in reliance, but National ultimately failed to pay, and Central sued for breach; National argued the oral promise was unenforceable under the Statute of Frauds as a promise to pay another's debt, but a jury awarded Central $600,000, and National appealed.
Whether an oral promise to pay a subcontractor the debt owed by a general contractor falls outside the Statute of Frauds' writing requirement when the property owner's main purpose in making that promise was to secure a benefit for itself.