Enforceability of Verbal Real Property Sale Agreement

A seller, who had verbally agreed to transfer ownership of a commercial property to a buyer but subsequently refused to execute the written deed, was sued by the buyer for enforcement of the sale. The court ruled that although the verbal agreement constituted a valid contract under civil law principles, French law required contracts for the transfer of real property rights to be in writing for them to be enforceable against third parties and for evidentiary purposes, leading the court to reject the buyer's claim for execution, as the lack of a formal written document prevented judicial enforcement of the agreement.