William J. Jenack Estate Appraisers & Auctioneers, Inc. v. Rabizadeh

William J. Jenack Estate Appraisers & Auctioneers, Inc. (Jenack) (plaintiff) sold art and antiques at auctions. In addition to accepting bids in person, Jenack allowed absentee bidders to submit bids online and by telephone. Before placing bids, absentee bidders were required to submit a signed form accepting Jenack’s terms, including that payment was required within five days of winning an auction. In September 2008 Albert Rabizadeh (defendant) submitted a signed absentee bidder form accepting Jenack’s terms. A few days later, Rabizadeh won an auction on an item by bidding $400,000. The auction clerk filled out a clerking sheet for the auction, detailing Rabizadeh’s bid and the item he had bid on. The clerking sheet named Jenack as the auctioneer and identified Rabizadeh by a number he had been assigned by Jenack instead of by his name. After Rabizadeh failed to pay for the item, Jenack filed a lawsuit in New York court against Rabizadeh for breach of contract. Rabizadeh filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that he could not be held liable for breach of contract because there was no written contract between him and Jenack that would satisfy the statute of frauds. Jenack filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that the clerking sheet and absentee bidder form together satisfied the signed-writing requirement imposed by the statute of frauds. The trial court granted summary judgment for Jenack. Rabizadeh appealed. The Appellate Division reversed the trial court and granted summary judgment for Rabizadeh, finding that the clerking sheet did not satisfy the statute of frauds, because it did not identify Rabizadeh by name and did not include the name of the seller. Jenack appealed.