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Article:
Read Before
You Sign: Important Aspects about Contracts
Jacksonville Attorney - Lawyer,
providing experienced Consumer Protection, Family Law, Estate Law,
Employment Law, Business Law, and Bankruptcy Law legal
representation in Jacksonville, Hilliard, Duval County,
Nassau County and the surrounding Northeast Florida areas.
In the good old days, a man could be taken at is word
and a handshake could seal a deal and thus, written
contracts were often the exception rather than the rule.
Today, handshake deals are the exception. Because
contracts are more important than ever and often govern
disputes, I wanted to provide readers with some
important things to know about contract law.
One important piece of advice is that if you sign a
contract, the law presumes that you read it and
comprehended it. The law does not ordinarily let someone
defend against enforcement of a contract on the grounds
that he or she did not read it. Just as ignorance of the
law is no excuse, ignorance of what was in a contract
that you signed does ordinarily help your position.
The reason for this rule of law is that our economy
benefits from having contracts generally enforceable
according to their terms rather than requiring someone
to also prove that a person understood what was signed.
Without this rule of law, the certainty that comes with
contracts would be lessened and litigation would be more
common even if a contract was clear. Once you understand
this rule of law, you understand why it is important to
understand what you are signing because the law assumes
that you did.
The first thing that will happen when you take this
advice is someone will laugh at you for reading the
contract you are asked to sign. If someone is attempting
to rush you through the signing process, you should ask
yourself why. A person should not discourage you from
reading a contract before you sign it or cover up
sections of the contract you are signing (or attempt to
summarize the contract in general terms. Your reliance
on a salesperson’s summarization will likely be of no
help to you at a later date. If the contract language
was important enough to write down, then it is important
enough to read. Indeed, the federal Truth in Lending Act
requires that
you be provided with certain installment contracts
before you sign them so that you can shop around if you
so desire (be sure you have not already signed a
purchase contract if you only intend to buy only if you
can obtain good financing terms).
Assuming you take this general advice and read all
contracts before you sign them, there are certain
clauses that I often tell consumers to strike from a
contract. The first is any requirement that parties
agree to binding arbitration before there is any
dispute. There are many reasons for this recommendation
but they will have to wait for another article on
arbitration.
Second, consumers should consider striking through
sentences requiring the consumer to litigate any
disputes in a foreign jurisdiction or be subject to the
law of another state. You can ordinarily assume that the
other contracting party wants law of the other state to
apply to the contract because it is less favorable to
you.
Third, consumers should strike through any portion of
the contract that says it automatically renews for
another year if there is no cancellation within 90 days
of the expiration of the contract or words to that
effect. I have seen this in a lot of alarm monitoring
contracts and other multi-year contracts.
Fourth, consumers should make sure the contract contains
everything that was promised and all material
representations. Many contracts contain warranty
limitations and limitations of remedies. These
contractual provisions can undermine or contradict
verbal promises or representations that have been made.
If there is something important that was promised, it
should be included in the contract documents even if you
have to handwrite it into the agreement. Don’t worry
about contradicting the fine print of the contract
because most courts will give greater weight to
handwritten provisions if they contradict typewritten
provisions.
If something was truly promised, the other party should
have no objection to ensuring that it is written into
the contract. I would insist that your contract contain
such promises and to go elsewhere if the other party is
unable to show you the specific language that tracks
what was promised or is unwilling to add the language to
one of the paragraphs of the contract. Most contracts
contain language that say the contract is the entire
agreement or there are no other agreements, so it is
very difficult to suggest later on that something else
was envisioned that was not in the contract. If you were
promised something would be finished in two weeks and it
is important, consider adding a clause that the contract
price is reduced by a certain amount for each day it
takes after four weeks or six weeks.
If all of this seems somewhat complicated to you, then
you should have your attorney review the contract,
especially if it involves a significant obligation on
your part. Many will do so in as little as a half hour
or hour. I intend to write my next series of articles on
tips for buying cars and your rights under the Fair
Credit Reporting Act. If you have an idea for an
article, please call my office at (904) 845-2255.
Disclaimer: The above Article
is intended to give you, the consumer, insight into various legal topics. This
information is not intended as legal advice, but rather helpful topical
information.
 If
you require professional legal services regarding
Consumer Protection, Family Law, Estate Law,
Employment Law, Business Law, and Bankruptcy Law issues, be proactive in
protecting your legal
rights by seeking the legal advice of
an experienced
Jacksonville criminal defense attorney
& lawyer. Contact
The Law Offices of
Steven M. Fahlgren, P.A.,
by calling
904.845.2255.
Jacksonville Attorney - Lawyer,
providing experienced Consumer Protection, Family Law, Estate Law,
Employment Law, Business Law, and Bankruptcy Law legal
representation in Jacksonville, Hilliard, Duval County,
Nassau County and the surrounding Northeast Florida areas.
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