It’s commonplace for performance to begin before a contract has been signed, with the contract being signed once all necessary approvals have been secured. MSCD 1.32 recommends that in such contexts, you put in the introductory clause the date the contract is signed, rather than the date performance began. (That assumes you’re using a date in the introductory clause rather … Read More
Here’s what I understand of the practice of having those signing a contract also initial each page of the contract: It’s commonplace in wills, apparently as a check against substitution of pages. It’s required by statute in the case of some contracts. For example, under Ohio Revised Code 1349.55, each page of a contract providing for a non-recourse civil litigation … Read More
While in Toronto last week I couldn’t help but admire, from the standpoint of graphic design and engaged municipal government, the timely yellow-and-white notice about handwashing that was posted in all restrooms. But those who attend my seminars will be aware that the one subject that has had me in a cold sweat more than any other is the ambiguity associated with … Read More
At my Osgoode Professional Development workshop in Toronto last week, a participant helpfully mentioned a recent English case in which the court held that transferring the signature on an incomplete draft deed or contract to a final version wouldn’t be effective if the changes made were so significant that the final version was arguably a different document. The following is … Read More
While researching the implications of the word deed (see today’s blog post on deed), I encountered a contract with the following concluding clause: THIS AGREEMENT has been duly executed as a Deed on the date stated at the beginning of this Agreement. The phrase executed as a deed also occurs in signature blocks. A variant is signed as a deed. … Read More
MSCD 12.148 and this May 2007 blog post consider the word indenture. Well, here’s another word for a particular kind of contract: deed. Black’s Law Dictionary defines deed as “A written instrument by which land is conveyed” and “At common law, any written instrument that is signed, sealed, and delivered and that conveys some interest in property.” There are many … Read More
