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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   32065 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of October 31, 2022

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In some countries such a lease would be refered to as a "contract of adhesion". And in any case, the party that wrote contract, would be assumed to posses a more thorough knowledge of its content. Any article that can be read multiple ways, would be interpreted to the detriment of the contract-writer.

But on the other hand, on this specific point, a meeting-of-the-minds did not occur as your mother thought her lease included the garage, while the owner did not.

Had the owner alerted her that she needs to pay extra for garage, after a period of significantly shorter than a year, this dispute wouldn't have gotten this far.

In some countries such a lease would be refered to as a "contract of adhesion".

It's not a contract of adhesion, as it was negotiable.

And in any case, the party that wrote contract, would be assumed to posses a more thorough knowledge of its content. Any article that can be read multiple ways, would be interpreted to the detriment of the contract-writer.

Yes, those are the standard rules. The lower-level adjudicators that ordinary people get to deal with don't follow those kinds of rules. They just kind of decide which party they favor and rule for them. And it's not the individual who they see once who they favor. (Except in jurisdictions which have flipped entirely the opposite way and decided the landlord is always wrong)

But on the other hand, on this specific point, a meeting-of-the-minds did not occur as your mother thought her lease included the garage, while the owner did not.

The contract terms were plain and (as you mention) written by the party disputing their plain meeting. That's enough to establish the meeting of the minds. Changing their minds a few months later shouldn't really cut it.

The owner alerted her after a few months, at which point she pointed out that the contract didn't include the garage. And that she doesn't want the garage if she has to pay for it. They went silent and then asked her to pay again at the end of the lease. She said no and they went to arbitration.

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