is an email a legal contract?

[Booker]

that's what i need to know. and is it that simple?

any lawyers out there?

[Chromedome]

Depends if you acknowledged receipt and are in agreement with it..IMHO.
If a handshake can be a form of contract an email could as well.

Ask a real lawyer...

[Name Deleted]

that's what i need to know. and is it that simple?

any lawyers out there?

Not unless it is printed out and signed by both parties, preferably with witnesses. You cna have a written record of the contents of a contract but I think you need to have a digital signature included to make it legal.

You can CC other people when sending an email but I dont think this will be recognised in a court.

[trip_hop]

Depends on the country and the organisation. I conduct a number of projects where there is no paper involved, specifications, estimates, correspondence, contracts and payments are all digital, with appropriate digital signatures. Even Japanese Tax Authorities now accept email and electronic submissions.

And from a legal point of view...

Much of today's business is conducted over e-mail, and it's possible to bind yourself to a contract through email, either deliberately or inadvertently.

If an e-mail or chain of e-mails clearly states an offer for entering into a deal with all of the material terms, and the other side responds by email accepting the terms, then there's a good chance that a valid contract has been formed ― even though no signatures have been exchanged. So be careful. If all you intend is to negotiate the issues leading to a formal written and signed contract accepted by both parties, make sure you say that in your e-mails.

In addition, in June 2000, President Clinton signed the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, which set a single national standard for using electronic signatures in contracts and other legal agreements. The law allows businesses to send copies of signed documents electronically and to store archived copies of these documents in electronic form. Although there are certain exceptions, many routine commercial transactions are covered under this law. The law even allows for the electronic notarization of legal documents.

The most important consequence is the fact that consumers can now "sign" contracts over the Web by simply pushing a button, clicking a link, or completing some other simple action. This means that two parties can negotiate, sign, and exchange copies of a contract without ever meeting face to face, signing a physical document, or producing a hard copy of an agreement. And, as far as the law is concerned, such an agreement can be just as valid as a written agreement using actual signatures.

From a US viewpoint...the law specifies a list of documents that cannot be signed electronically, including wills, trusts and estates; marriage, divorce, adoption, and other family agreements; court documents and filings; utility service terminations; eviction, foreclosure, and repossession notices; health and life insurance termination notices; and documents referring to the handling or transportation of hazardous materials. State laws may also require that certain types of contracts, such as real estate purchase agreements, need to be in writing and signed by the parties.

[Booker]

thanks ya'll. th, i came across that article, too, before i came to you all.

for my sake, i hope i'm flying with the dutchman....

[ruserious]

My former company in the U.S. changed it's e-mail retention policy for just that reason.

A customer's business failed, and they blamed my company. The lawyers went through ALL of our e-mail, and found ONE internal e-mail where one of our employees said, "Their business depends on us producing this product on time."

He said it mostly for emphasis, and to get the design department moving, but that e-mail was enough for a jury to decide against us. We lost millions.

Now we automatically delete all e-mail that is older than 6 months. (destroy the evidence.)

[Gino DiCaprio]

My former company in the U.S. changed it's e-mail retention policy for just that reason.

A customer's business failed, and they blamed my company. The lawyers went through ALL of our e-mail, and found ONE internal e-mail where one of our employees said, "Their business depends on us producing this product on time."

He said it mostly for emphasis, and to get the design department moving, but that e-mail was enough for a jury to decide against us. We lost millions.

Now we automatically delete all e-mail that is older than 6 months. (destroy the evidence.)

You “may” destroy your side of the evidence, how ever you have not done so on the other side and that is enough to not only sue you but put criminal changes against certain people in your company.

[ericson]

It most certainly is a legal way of creating a contract. Most corporation employee guides will have strict requirements and liabilities described as part of it just to make it clear not to accidentally enter into any agreement. A signiture is not always required to make it a legally binding contract. So yes. If you are on the bad end of the stick though, it may be difficult to chase after people that promised you something. Also if the other party is in another country, it can make things just that little bit more inconvenient.

[Tatsuo]

Is answering to a 5 year old post a crime or just stupid ?

[ruserious]

Is answering to a 5 year old post a crime or just stupid ?

Just stupid, but it should be a crime.

[Harp]

Just stupid, but it should be a crime.

Especially stupid if, as it looks, the person who answered joined GP specifically to comment on a 5 year old post.