Fisher

Oviatt Building Associates, a limited partnership, sued Ralph M. Parsons, doing business as The Ralph M. Parsons Company, for unpaid rent accrued under an oral agreement for rental of space by defendant in the Oviatt Building in downtown Los Angeles. Defendant moved to dismiss the third amended complaint and the action as sham, fictitious, and frivolous; also for entry of summary judgment in his favor; at the same time he demurred to the complaint, relying principally upon the statute of frauds. The court sustained the demurrer without leave to amend and granted the motions, stating in the minute order: “The contract pleaded is unenforceable for uncertainty and indefiniteness.” From the ensuing judgment plaintiffs appeal.

The determinative question is the correctness of the ruling upon demurrer for, as appears later, the showing upon motion for summary judgment was not sufficient to warrant that relief; the other motions turned upon the same questions as the demurrer.

The third amended complaint alleges that plaintiffs acquired ownership of the Oviatt Building in September 1956, and at the same time acquired their predecessor’s interest in all existing agreements between said…