DF Activities Corporation v. Brown
United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit
851 F.2d 920 (1988)
DF (plaintiff) claimed Brown (defendant) orally agreed to sell a Frank Lloyd Wright-designed chair for $60,000, but Brown returned DF's confirming letter and deposit check with a handwritten denial that any agreement existed, then later sold the chair to someone else for $198,000; Brown submitted a sworn affidavit denying the contract's formation and moved to dismiss under the UCC statute of frauds, and DF sought additional discovery and a deposition of Brown to try to obtain a contrary admission under the UCC's judicial-admission exception, but the district court granted Brown's motion to dismiss.
Whether, when a defendant raises a statute of frauds defense and submits a sworn affidavit denying the formation of a contract with the plaintiff, the plaintiff may seek additional discovery to attempt to gain an admission from the defendant of the contract under oath.