Emoji Ag Contract
From the Ag Information Network, this is today’s Fruit Grower Report. How does the rise of electronic communications impact legal contracts for those in agriculture?
Turns out, according to Roger McOwen, agricultural law professor at Washburn University, the impact can be larger than many would ever expect …
McEOWEN … “The essence of forming a contract is offer and acceptance, and an acceptance can be in any form that objectively shows your intent to accept the offer. But what about electronic communication? Is an emoji or tweet or an email good enough to accept a contract? An enforceable contract requires that there be a clear offer and an acceptance of that offer.”
But McEowen asks, what about using electronic communications? Can that be enough for a legal acceptance? …
McEOWEN … “In one case, a grain buyer sent a photo of the purchase contract by text to a farmer, and he replied by texting a thumbs up emoji. The court said there was an enforceable contract. Another court said a contract could be formed by a thumbs up emoji if the parties agreed on the contract's essential terms. In another case, the Court held that an instant message exchange modified a contract that had a no oral modification clause. Yet another court held that a full moon face emoji contained with a tweet could plausibly mislead stockholders and be a securities violation. And one court has ruled that a series of emails met the requirement that the contract, be in writing.”
McEOWEN says the safest approach is to use traditional contract language alongside ANY kind digital expressions. Or just don’t use the digital expressions.
