When agreeing to the terms of a business deal or a personal transaction, it’s always best to have a written and signed contract in place to hold all parties accountable. That said, there are some instances in which verbal agreements can be considered legally binding, and you can hire a lawyer to sue the other party if the agreement has been breached.

When Is a Verbal Agreement Legally Binding?

In the eyes of the law, to hold someone accountable for breaching the terms of any agreement, whether written or oral, your lawyer must prove that it was legally binding. To be considered binding in Ohio, a contract must include several specific elements, including:

• An Offer & Acceptance: An offer must have been made by one party to another—for example, an individual agreed to lend his cousin $2,500 to purchase a used car—and the second party must have accepted the offer with the promise to pay the money back by a specific date.
• Consideration: The agreement must involve the legal exchange of something valuable, which in the example above is money (a $2,500 loan to purchase a used car).
• Free Consent: Both parties must have acknowledged that the agreement was formed freely and that they each agreed to all of the terms.

How Do You Prove a Breach of an Oral Contract? 

Even if you’re able to establish that your verbal agreement is legally binding, it’s not always easy for a lawyer to prove it’s been breached. The burden of proof is entirely on you, the party wanting the agreement to be enforced, which can be challenging if there is no written or physical evidence of the agreement and/or its terms.

If you do have physical evidence, you stand a much better chance—items like written checks, money orders, and email, text, and/or letter correspondence discussing the agreement can be helpful in proving that an oral contract was breached.

If you’d like to sue over the breach of a verbal agreement, the lawyers at Morrow, Gordon & Byrd, Ltd. are eager to help. Serving Newark, New Albany, and Westerville, OH, this firm specializes in all areas of business law, in addition to tax law, real estate law, and bankruptcy. Visit their website to learn more about the team, and call (740) 345-9611 to set up a consultation today.