Also known as: parol testimonies · oral testimony · parol evidence
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Oral testimony offered to prove the terms of an agreement or the true character of a transaction. Courts admit the testimony when a writing is not completely integrated or when offered to show that an absolute deed was intended only as security for a debt.
Perry Pratt purchased a medical building from Prosperity Investments. The contract contained a merger clause and the deed described only the land and building. After closing Pratt sought to enforce an earlier email promise for reserved parking spaces. The court refused to admit the oral and written statements because the integrated writing and deed controlled the parties' obligations.
Preston Pratt and Prism Analytics signed a detailed forty-page supply contract containing an integration clause. Pratt later attempted to enforce an oral side promise for minimum purchase volumes. The court first determined the writing was completely integrated and therefore excluded the prior oral term from consideration.
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Portia Price conveyed her townhouse by absolute deed to Phoenix Technologies after receiving a cash advance. Side emails described the transfer as temporary security. After repayment Price offered the emails to prove the deed was a mortgage. The court admitted the parol testimony to establish the parties' true intent and allowed redemption.
Pedro Pacheco's will left his estate to his two named children. His neighbor offered testimony that the testator had orally stated the neighbor was also a child for inheritance purposes. The court admitted the extrinsic statements to correct a scrivener's error and effectuate the testator's actual intent.
Pablo Perez purchased a lot subject to recorded restrictions. He offered testimony that the developer had orally agreed the restrictions would not bind his parcel. The court excluded the testimony because the written instruments constituted the final expression of the parties' understanding.
Pierre Poulin executed a living will directing no artificial nutrition. Family members offered testimony that he had later orally changed his wishes. The court considered whether the parol statements could vary the written directive under applicable evidentiary standards.
Courts admit the testimony when the deed is absolute on its face yet contemporaneous writings or conduct indicate the transfer secured a debt. The evidence establishes the parties' true intent and permits the grantor to redeem upon repayment.
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A merger clause states the writing is the complete agreement. After the deed is delivered and accepted, the contract merges into the deed and prior promises not reflected in the deed are discharged unless an exception such as fraud or a collateral agreement applies.
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The court makes the preliminary determination whether the agreement is completely or partially integrated. This finding controls whether prior agreements may be admitted to contradict or supplement the writing.
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No. Exceptions permit parol testimony to establish fraud, mutual mistake, or a collateral agreement that the parties did not intend to merge into the writing.
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…relatives. Equally inapposite is Hyatt v. Jurczyk , 368 F.2d 546 (1st Cir. 1966). There, the court rightly refused to admit parol evidence, consisting of the declared intention of the testatrix, being offered to change the language of the will. Here evidence of the decedent’s relationship to Mayo’s nephews and nieces was…