MINEOLA – Despite a finding that an alleged agreement between local distributors and Friendly’s Ice Cream Corp. violated the Statute of Frauds, a judge nevertheless has allowed the distributors to proceed with key claims in a $3 million action alleging that the ice cream maker profited from customer contacts gained through the soured deal.
Nassau Supreme Court Justice Leonard B. Austin determined that because the local distributors could not produce a written agreement signed by Friendly’s that involved an exclusive distributorship for Long Island school districts and colleges, the distributors’ breach of contract claim could not proceed under General Obligations Law �5-701(a)(1).
