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August 09, 2006
The Wanton Cruelty of the Common Comma
Modereately recently, a book was release called "Eats, shoots and leaves", contending with the misuse of punctuation.
contract n. An agreement between two or more parties, especially one that is written and enforceable by law. See Synonyms at bargain. The writing or document containing such an agreement.
One additional comma in a five page contract is set to cost Rogers Communications upwards of 2 million dollars.
Rogers had a contract with Aliant for laying cable lines across thousands of utility poles in the Maritimes for an annual fee of $9.60 per pole. The actual language in question is:
[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.
Rogers is saying that gives them an iron-clan guarantee of five years plus the option of another five and that the intent is clear. Aliant has given them one year warning (three years into the original contract) and is hiking the prices.
Under common law, agreement is a necessary element of a valid contract. Under Uniform Commercial Code section 1-201(3), agreement is the bargain of the contracting parties as represented explicitly by their language or implicitly by other circumstances (as a course of dealings).
If the second comma wasn't there, Rogers would be correct. That lone fleck of ink, however, means that the sentence can and is interpretted exactly the way Aliant wishes and that they may cancel the contract with 12 months notice.
Whoops.
Scrawled illegibly by Meathe at August 9, 2006 12:43 PM
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