Legal Question in Business Law in Washington

copy of contract

A person signs a contract and the other person tosses it in his desk drawer, never giving the signer a copy. Is the person who signed the contract legally bound to uphold it since he has no copy of it?

If a person cannot reference the contents of the contract he was forced to sign, how can he know what the contract said and how can they expect him to abide by the contract if he doesn't know what it said? Thank You.


Asked on 7/30/08, 10:24 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Susan Beecher Susan L. Beecher, Atty at Law

Re: copy of contract

It depends on the nature of the contract. Some contracts don't even need to be written down. In other circumstances, the parties must be provided with copies.

The signer may have other defenses against this contract. Under what circumstances was he "forced to sign"? Did he ever know the contents of the contract? If not, why not? However, to answer your question directly, the fact that the person holding the contract did not give a copy to the other party probably does not automatically void the contract.

I am assuming you or someone close to you is the signer. You (or that person) may want to talk one on one with an attorney so that you can get into the specifics and get a more specific answer.

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Answered on 7/30/08, 10:49 am


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