Hank negotiates an agreement with the Texas Rangers. He agrees that he will outfield for the Rangers for 5 years in exchange for $50,000,000. The agreement is never put into writing. The day before the baseball season starts, the Houston Astros, another baseball team, offer Hank $26,000,000 to outfield for them. Hank accepts. The Rangers sue Hank for breach of contract and the parties agree to arbitrate the lawsuit.

At the arbitration hearing, Hank's attorney, Dewey, points out that under the Statute of Frauds, contracts that cannot be completed within one year are unenforceable unless they are in writing. However, the arbitrator, Amanda, sneers contemptuously and replies, "Oh, please! Hank knew exactly what he was doing and it would be totally unfair for this contract to be unenforceable based on a crummy technicality." Amanda then rules in favor of the Rangers and awards them $10,000,000 in damages.

The Rangers sue Hank in Tarrant County Civil Court to have the arbitration award confirmed. Hank argues that since the arbitrator did not follow the law, the award should not be confirmed. The Rangers argue that judges in general have discretion to enforce contracts on fairness grounds and so Amanda's decision should be upheld and that, in any case, Amanda is not bound by the strict letter of the law.