Speyer v. Desjardins

Citations

• 144 Ill. 641
• 32 N.E. 283

Syllabus

<p>In 1. Statute of frauds — compliance with the statute presumed. this State the doctrine is, both at law and in equity, that compliance with the statute of frauds is presumed, and the party plaintiff is not required to set out compliance in his declaration or bill.</p> <p>2. Same — when advantage of, taken by demurrer. The benefit of the statute of frauds, as a defense, can be taken by demurrer only when it affirmatively appears from the bill that the agreement relied on is not evidenced by a writing duly signed.</p> <p>3. When the allegation of a bill in chancery is that the complainant and defendant “ entered into an agreement to purchase ” certain lots and “ to erect thereon ” certain specified buildings, it will be presumed that the agreement was in writing and properly signed by the parties, and if the bill states a case for equitable relief, it will be error to sustain a demurrer to it on the ground it is not stated that the contract is in writing.</p> <p>4. Same — to what agreements it applies. It is well settled that an oral contract by two or more persons to purchase real estate for their joint benefit is within the statute of frauds, but an agreement for a partnership for the purpose of dealing and trading in lands for profit is not within the statute, and the fact of the existence of the partnership and the extent of each partner’s interest may be shown by parol evidence.</p> <p>5. Partnership — partnership lands — treated as personal property. The real estate of a partnership is treated and administered in equity as between the partners, and for all the purposes of the partnership, as personal property and partnership assets, and for this reason it is immaterial whether the legal title to the partnership land is in all the partners, or in one, or in some number less than the whole, nor is it material whether the partnership was already formed and engaged in its business when the land was acquired and brought into the partnership stock, or whether the p