Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Alaska

Re: Verbal Power of Attorney

It is impossible to say whether a particular agreement or authorization must be in writing without detailed information regarding both its purpose and the facts and circumstances surrounding its execution.

Generally, under the "Equal Dignities Rule", an agent's authorization to make a contract must be in writing only if it is specifically required under a Statute of Frauds, or if the contract to be made must be in writing under a Statute of Frauds. Unfortunately, Statute of Frauds issues tend to be extremely complex due to the numerous exceptions and exceptions to exceptions which may apply.

Although it certainly does appear possible that the document referred to in your question could be binding at least on the parties who were present, much more information would be needed to give a definite opinion one way or the other.