Any lawyers in the house?
Discussion
I've a quick question. If a contract was supposed to have been signed by myself and my signature witnessed and only ended up being signed by me, not witnessed does that null and void it if things end up in court?
Appreciate i might need to elaborate more but is it generally accepted that if there is a witness requirement for a signature and it was not done then the contract is null and void? Basically i have a service provider trying to claim money from me when we have not done business together for 5 years now.
Appreciate i might need to elaborate more but is it generally accepted that if there is a witness requirement for a signature and it was not done then the contract is null and void? Basically i have a service provider trying to claim money from me when we have not done business together for 5 years now.
Did you contract in your personal capacity or on behalf of a company. In the latter case the company's own regulations may have required the contract to be witnessed. However, in general business agreements do not require the contracting parties' signatures to be witnessed.
The fact that your signature was not witnessed does not of itself invalidate the contract. If both parties adhered to the terms set out in the contract then by conduct both of you are bound by its terms since the other party effectively waived the absence of a witness's signature.
However, the main question is why, given that you say neither party has done anything pursuant to the contact for 5 years, they are now pursuing you for money>
The fact that your signature was not witnessed does not of itself invalidate the contract. If both parties adhered to the terms set out in the contract then by conduct both of you are bound by its terms since the other party effectively waived the absence of a witness's signature.
However, the main question is why, given that you say neither party has done anything pursuant to the contact for 5 years, they are now pursuing you for money>
zzrman said:
Did you contract in your personal capacity or on behalf of a company. In the latter case the company's own regulations may have required the contract to be witnessed. However, in general business agreements do not require the contracting parties' signatures to be witnessed.
The fact that your signature was not witnessed does not of itself invalidate the contract. If both parties adhered to the terms set out in the contract then by conduct both of you are bound by its terms since the other party effectively waived the absence of a witness's signature.
However, the main question is why, given that you say neither party has done anything pursuant to the contact for 5 years, they are now pursuing you for money>
This would not cover a contract written as a deed which would require witnessThe fact that your signature was not witnessed does not of itself invalidate the contract. If both parties adhered to the terms set out in the contract then by conduct both of you are bound by its terms since the other party effectively waived the absence of a witness's signature.
However, the main question is why, given that you say neither party has done anything pursuant to the contact for 5 years, they are now pursuing you for money>
tjl said:
This would not cover a contract written as a deed which would require witness
But even a deed does not become invalid just because it isn't witnessed. It just stops being a deed. Although if you needed it to be a deed (if there is no consideration for example) then clearly it's not.Forums | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff