Also, there is a difference between an agreement in
principle and a contract, when crucial issues have yet to be resolved.
Absolutely. That's just what I said.
The question is, what are critical issues? Ultimately, if it comes to it, that's a question for the court to decide.
As I pointed out earlier, there are ALWAYS unresolved issues. Even with a written contract. Even you would not argue that a written contract wasn't a real contract if it didn't spell out what happened if a meteor happened to strike the car immediately after the contract was signed.
The question when an agreement is a contract is complex, and has led to a chunk of litigation over the years. But the facts are that there is some line where you move from bargaining to contract, and that line is crossed over even if there are some elements of the agreement that have not been formally addressed or resolved.
As just one example, my insurance contract for my office, which I just checked on this point, lists the cost of the insurance in dollars, but does NOT specify US dollars. So it is formally not resolved what currency it must be paid in. But I can assure you that if I tried to pay Canadian dollars, a court would say nuts, and if I tried to say that the contract was invalid because it didn't specify US or Canadian dollars and therefore was not a complete meeting of the minds because in the back of my mind I was thinking "I can pay this in Canadian dollars and get off cheap" I wouldn't get very far. |
