2/5/2024 0 Comments Scrivener error definitionIn construing a will, the court’s focus is on the testatrix’s intent. The Texas Supreme Court stated as follows: Such errors may be fatal to the contract or may be enforced with adverse consequences against one of the parties.Historically, Texas courts could not resort to extrinsic evidence to construe an unambiguous will. However, errors related to dates, price, quantity, legal names of individuals and entities, and property descriptions (such as addresses and lot numbers) may not qualify as scrivener’s errors. The scrivener’s error doctrine permits typographical errors in a written contract to be corrected when clear and convincing evidence exists that the mistake does not reflect the intent of the parties. Minor errors are called scrivener’s errors. Although some typos are easy to ignore because they do not carry legal consequences, some can be fatal to the agreement. Some are harmless, some are embarrassing, and others are harmful. Typographical errors are common in contracts. For example, the contract states that goods will ship via a carrier that has a common name and could be referring to different carriers. For example, a contract states two different sale prices.Ī latent ambiguity exists where the uncertainty arises during the performance of the contract. A patent ambiguity is where the language of the contract itself creates uncertainty because it is contradictory. Ambiguities can be either patent or latent. In contracts, ambiguity means an uncertainty of meaning or intention. Again, mistakes in drafting are held against the drafter so if a court concludes that the vague term was a mistake, then it is hard to win in litigation. If there are two or more reasonable interpretations, it is possible that the court will decide another interpretation is more reasonable. However, if the parties are not in agreement up front, it is uncommon that things will work out smoothly later.Īnother risk with vagueness is that it is not clear how a court will interpret the contract. Some business people think that keeping the contract “general” will facilitate a business transaction and that the details can be worked out later. Vagueness is problematic because it could mean that the parties did not have a meeting of the minds because they were not talking about the same things. In the context of contracts, vagueness means the language is imprecise, uncertain, and not clearly expressed. If a contract is too broad, too confusing, or contains too much irrelevant information, it hinders the effectiveness of the document. The best contracts are used as a reference between the parties during the period of performance. Contracts that are too long and contain irrelevant and contradictory terms are hard to understand. It is also important to exclude provisions that are irrelevant to the contract. When writing a contract, keep it simple and clear. The idea is that the party who wrote it should have done a better job, and the party who read and signed it should not be penalized as a result of someone else’s error. In other words, if the contract is unclear, the party who did not write it gets the benefit of the doubt. Any mistakes in drafting go against the party who wrote the contract. It is always better to read the contract and ensure that it accurately reflects the parties’ agreement. Just because it sounds official, a document generated by a computer algorithm may not be helpful. One common mistake is using free online resources without ensuring that they are appropriate for the circumstances. Four of the most common mistakes when writing a contract are: not understanding the content, vagueness, ambiguity, and typographical errors.
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