Mayer v. King Cola Mid-America, Inc.

660 S.W.2d 746 · Missouri Court of Appeals · 1983

Facts

Theodore Mayer was orally offered a three-year employment contract as general manager for King Cola, requiring him to move from Chattanooga to St. Louis. Despite starting work, no formal written contract was ever executed, and Mayer was terminated after a few months. The trial court granted a directed verdict for King Cola based on the Statute of Frauds.

Issue

Can an oral three-year employment contract, which falls under the Statute of Frauds, be enforced based on various informal writings or the doctrine of promissory estoppel, despite the absence of a signed formal agreement?

Holding

The court affirmed the directed verdict, holding that neither the informal writings nor the doctrine of promissory estoppel satisfied the Statute of Frauds, thus barring enforcement of the oral employment contract.

Rule

The Statute of Frauds requires agreements not to be performed within one year to be in writing and signed; multiple writings can satisfy this if connected and containing essential terms. Promissory estoppel requires a definite promise, detrimental reliance, and that injustice can only be avoided by enforcement, but it generally cannot be used to abrogate the Statute of Frauds for contracts clearly falling within its scope.

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Case brief last reviewed 2026-03-02. Prepared by CaseReader from the published opinion.