What you have to prove

Missouri courts look for four things. You must prove all four:

1. There was a contract, and you can show its terms.
2. You did what the contract required, or you were ready to.
3. The other side did not do what it promised.
4. You lost money because of it.

The second point trips people up. If you did not keep your own side of the deal, you may have trouble winning, even if the other side clearly broke its promise.

A contract does not have to be a formal document. A handshake deal can count. So can a string of emails. The hard part with an unwritten deal is proving what was agreed.

Some deals must be in writing

Missouri law says some promises cannot be enforced unless they are written down and signed by the person you are suing. These include:

• a deal to buy or sell land;
• a lease of land for more than one year;
• a deal that cannot be finished within one year;
• a promise to pay someone else’s debt, like signing to back up another person’s loan.

If you are sued on one of these deals and nothing was signed, tell your lawyer right away. This defense must be raised in your written answer, or it can be lost.

How long you have to sue

Some cases get ten years. That longer deadline covers a written, signed promise to pay money or property (§ 516.110). It does not cover every written contract. The writing itself must contain the promise to pay that you are suing over.

Other deadlines can apply:

• Sales of goods. If you bought or sold goods, like equipment or inventory, you usually have four years. The contract can shorten that to as little as one year.
• Promissory notes. A note with a set due date can be enforced for ten years after that date.

The clock usually starts when you are harmed and the harm can be measured. If the deadline has already passed, a new signed, written promise to pay can revive the claim. A phone call does not.

What a court can award

The usual goal is to put you where you would have been if the deal had been kept. That normally means money.

• Interest before judgment. If the contract does not set a rate, Missouri allows nine percent a year on money owed under a written contract (§ 408.020).
• Interest after judgment. A contract judgment grows at nine percent a year, or the contract rate if it is higher.
• Legal fees. You get these back only if the contract or a law says so. That is why we read the fee section of your contract first.

Sometimes money is not enough. If someone refuses to sell you land they agreed to sell, a court can order the sale to go through. See real estate litigation.

If you are the one being sued

Being sued does not mean you owe what the other side claims. Common defenses include:

• they waited too long to sue;
• the deal had to be in writing and was not;
• you already paid, or they released you;
• they gave up the right to complain;
• you were tricked into signing.

These defenses must go in your written answer. If you have your own claims against the other side, you can usually bring them in the same case.

What to do next

1. Gather the whole contract, plus any changes, emails and texts about it.
2. Write a short timeline: what was promised, what happened, and when.
3. Check the contract for sections on notice, legal fees, where to sue, or arbitration.
4. Bring it all to a consultation so we can figure out your deadline.

Want your next contract to prevent this? See contract drafting and review. If the other side lives in another state, your case may belong in federal court. See federal diversity jurisdiction.

Common questions

Related reading

• Civil litigation overview
• Business litigation
• Contract drafting and review
• Fraud and misrepresentation claims
• Debt collection lawsuits