Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Word of the Month for December 2013: Contract

If it's too good to be true, it is
My daughter is 4 years old and she has developed a small collection of favorite DVDs that she sees over and over and over and over and over and, etc.  One of her favorite DVD is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the original/classic version; not the one with the guy who played a pirate).  While I was watching Charlie for the umpteenth time, I heard a line that caught my attention: "Don't talk to me about contracts, Wonka, I use them myself.  They're strictly for suckers."  And just like that, I was listening to Charley all over again. Well, not Charley, per say, but the legal implications Charley was trying to tell everyone about - which all brings us to our word of the month: CONTRACT.

According to Black's Law Dictionary, a CONTRACT is an agreement between two or more parties creating obligations that are enforceable or otherwise recognizable at law - which begs the question of what kind of business man Mr. Beuregarde was, anyway?  Clearly an everyday, typical car salesman, that's who.

Anyway, the reason all this came about was I was talking to a guy (Mr. A) who came into my library the other day.  Seems he had entered a contract to sell materials to another guy (Mr. B) who agreed to pay for the materials.  Subsequently, B tells A that he (B) has entered into an agreement with Mr. C to pay A when A gives B the materials.  Later, when A gives B the materials, A finds out that C entered into an agreement with Mr. D to pay A when B received the materials.  Confused?  So was Mr. A which is why he came to our law library to get all sorted out.

In short order, I tell Mr. A that he's dealing with a contract and assignments and that he should take a look at:
Yep, contract disputes can be scary.  Heck, they scare the heck out of people who write them.  Good thing, then, that your local county law Librarians are around to help you locate whatever you're looking for whenever you need it.

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