Jillcy Film Enterprises, Inc., Plaintiff, v. Home Box Office, Inc., Defendant, 593 F. Supp. 515

Summary

The film company produced a documentary and entered into an agreement with the network to air the documentary. The film company brought an action against the network, and the network filed a motion to dismiss. The court denied the motion on the issue of the parties' intent to be bound. The court held that the contract was taken out of the statute of frauds contained in N.Y. Gen. Oblig. Law § 5-701. Also, there was a triable issue of fact based on a dispute concerning intent. Therefore, such an issue was not proper for summary judgment. The motion was granted on the issue of a provision in the contract containing the duty to negotiate in good faith. There was no definite, objective criteria or standards against which the network's conduct was to be measured.