L.R. Bretz v. Portland General Electric Co.

KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge:

We consider again the validity of Sam Goldwyn’s aphorism that an oral contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on. L.R. Bretz, a Montana resident, brought a diversity suit against Portland General Electric (PGE), an Oregon corporation, for breach of a contract for the sale of PGE’s stock in its wholly-owned subsidiary, the Beartooth Coal Company. The district court granted PGE’s motion for summary judgment, holding that the exchange of letters between Bretz and PGE did not satisfy Montana’s statute of frauds.1 We review the district court’s grant of summary judgment…