On September 24, 2025, the Second Department issued a decision in Blank v Acker, 2025 NY Slip Op. 05059, holding that the Statute of Frauds bars claims based on an alleged oral agreement to sell real property, explaining:
A party may move to dismiss one or more causes of action on the basis that they may not be maintained because of statute of frauds. The statute of frauds prohibits the conveyance of real property without a written contract. Moreover, pursuant to EPTL 13-2.1(a)(2), an agreement to make a testamentary disposition must itself be in writing and signed by the party to be charged.
However, there is no requirement that the terms of the agreement be embodied in a single writing. Moreover, an agreement which violates the statute of frauds may nonetheless be enforceable where there has been part performance unequivocally referable to the contract by the party seeking to enforce the agreement. Unequivocally referable conduct is conduct which is inconsistent with any other explanation.
Here, the causes of action sounding in breach of contract are barred by the statute of frauds, as the plaintiff is seeking to enforce an oral contract for the conveyance of real property. The various writings to which the plaintiff points are insufficient to make out a written agreement sufficient to satisfy the statute of frauds. The emails submitted by the plaintiff did not state all of the essential terms of the alleged agreement. The two versions of David’s last will and testament are not enforceable contracts, as they are revocable by the testator at any time. Furthermore, the plaintiff’s alleged part performance was not unequivocally referable to the purported oral agreement that he seeks to enforce.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).