How do you decide what a contract really means, at least in New York? There wouldn’t be a contract unless the parties agreed to something. When you sign a contract you think you know what the written words say; but how do you decide what they really mean? If you’re…
How do you know exactly what is included in your contract, and what is not? If your company enters into a contract to supply services, for example, the contract will include a provision for when and how you will be paid. What happens, though, if that provision, as it often…
The rules of contract interpretation are best learned from seeing how they are applied. To use them, successfully, is to know them. In our last article, we discussed some of the basic rules. We will now see how one of them, giving the words of the contract their plain and…
What does your contract actually mean? You know what it says. You know what you meant when you signed the contract and committed your business to it. You thought it was clear and unambiguous. What do you do when the other party claims you breached the contract and wants damages? …
A contract for the sale of goods: one business, or merchant, buys a part from another. They agree on quantity, price, and delivery. The Seller sends the Buyer a purchase order and delivers the goods, and the Buyer pays. It all sounds easy, but as we previously said, a lot…
What does a trial attorney do and what does it mean to be a trial attorney? These two seemingly simple questions, with their seemingly simple answers, actually go a long way towards uncovering some of the most common misperceptions about one of the most passionate, and arduous, fields in law.…
A contract does not always have to be in writing to be enforceable in New York. Most people, including business owners, might think it has to be in writing, but it does not. It must be an agreement, between at least two parties, where each has committed to give up…
Every New York business deals with contracts: sales contracts; purchase agreements; leases, for equipment or for real property such as a store, warehouse, or office; even insurance policies which protect the business, its employees, and its property from loss and damage. Contracts are the means by which a business conducts…
Many businesses share a common problem in negotiating and drafting contracts. Rather than resolving all key issues before they enter into a contract, rather than making clear what each party to the contract is obliged to do, and what each is entitled to receive, they allow serious ambiguities to remain…
We’ve previously discussed the problem of partial payments being disguised as payments in full, and how this can prevent a New York Business from collecting the full amount a customer owes it. Depositing a check, marked payment in full, normally creates an Accord and Satisfaction, which discharges the remainder of…