MHUTE v CHIFAMBA 1999 (2) ZLR 115 (S)

Flynote

Contract ” formation ” verbal contract of sale ” whether contract was intended only to be legally binding when reduced to writing

Headnote

A contract of sale may be made orally, without it being put in writing. The parties may agree, however, that the oral contract will not be legally binding until it is drawn up in a written agreement. Where the parties to an oral agreement mention that the contract should be reduced to writing, the question is whether the parties intended that the contract would not be binding until the written agreement had been signed or simply that the contract should be binding immediately but should subsequently be put in writing to facilitate proof of the terms of the contract. The onus of proof is on the party who asserts that an oral contract was not intended to be binding until reduced to writing and signed. In the present case it was clear that the parties had intended the oral contract to be binding and its reduction to writing was intended only to aid the proof of the terms of the contract.