Part Performance and Equitable, Estoppel in Tennessee

The Tennessee chancery courts have repeatedly been petitioned for the specific enforcement of parol contracts for the sale of land, on the basis of part performance.\u27 The Tennessee Supreme Court has consistently refused to give such relief, emphatically laying down the rule that part performance of a parol contract for the sale of land does not serve as a substitute for the writing required by the Statute of Frauds... The purpose of this note is to determine the extent to which Tennessee courts will recognize and enforce parol contracts for the sale of an interest inland when the petitioner relies on such equitable doctrines as equitable estoppel, constructive trust or part performance; to point out the distinctions between equitable estoppel and part performance, as applied to the Statute of Frauds in Tennessee; and to analyze the cases to determine the extent to which the decision of a particular case may depend on whether the petitioner relies on equitable estoppel, parol trust or part performance