Holy Loophole! A misplaced comma in a supposed iron-clad contract allowed Aliant Inc. to cancel its contract with Rogers Communications Inc., costing Rogers $2.13 million. Rogers thought it had a guaranteed 5 year deal with Aliant to string cable lines across utility poles in the Maritimes without a price increase, that is, until some grammarian, no doubt a lawyer, pointed to the expensive extra comma. A basic rule of punctuation allowed Aliant to cancel the contract after one year, which it did. It then raised its rates. Here is the clause that got some lawyer after school detention:
“The agreement shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five year terms, unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party”.
So next time you hire a lawyer to do a real estate contract, get one who knows how to punctuate or get an English teacher to proofread his contract.
Source: GlobeandMail.com.
