Shelton v. Kennedy Funding, Inc., No. 09-1670

In Shelton v. Kennedy Funding, Inc., No. 09-1670, a breach-of-contract and fraud action arising out of the sale of an Arkansas cemetery and involving the alleged breach of a loan agreement, the court affirmed judgment for plaintiff where 1) the Estoppel Certificate at issue did not fall within the surety prong of the Arkansas Statute of Frauds; 2) a reasonable jury could find the certificate's terms were sufficiently definite to impose an obligation upon defendant to place $675,000 in an escrow account for plaintiff's benefit in the event of a default on the loan; and 3) projections of future events or conduct could not support a fraud claim as a matter of law.

As the court wrote:  "This appeal arises out of the sale of an Arkansas cemetery. A jury awarded the cemetery's seller, Virgil Shelton, $1,675,000 on his breach-of-contract and fraud claims against Kennedy Funding, Inc .(KFI). KFI appeals. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for reduction of Shelton's judgment to $675,000."

Related Resources

• Full Text of Shelton v. Kennedy Funding, Inc., No. 09-1670