Davito v. Blakely

The plaintiff, Dr. Silvio Davito, filed this suit for specific performance of an alleged contract with defendant, George Blakely, for the purchase by Davito and sale by Blakely of a farm containing more than four hundred acres. Additional parties defendant included defendant’s wife, the tenant on the farm, and a bank which held legal title in trust for Blakely. A second count added Ryan Cawley as a defendant charging him with fraud.

The principal defense was the Statute of Frauds, on the ground there was no sufficient writing signed by the parties to be charged. Copies of documents attached to…