intent

[William Mann]

Responding to Margaret Winters' message about intent and contracts:


I think you are on the trail of something.

At a more primitive level, I recall a concept from a contract law course.
It was called "meeting of minds."  An example: If A and B create a sale
contract, so that A is selling a boat named "Happy Trails,"  a barge, but B
is buying a boat named "Happy Trails,"  a schooner, and it can be
established that these were the thoughts that were being thought when the
contract was signed, then by law there was no "meeting of minds."  The law
then says, there is no enforceable contract.

Bill Mann

----- Original Message -----
From: "Margaret E. Winters" <mew1 at SIU.EDU>
To: <FUNKNET at listserv.rice.edu>
Sent: Friday, February 23, 2001 10:50 AM
Subject: intent


> I've been reading the postings on communication and intent and (because of
> my day job) thought of some place to look at an application: there should
> be a good-sized literature on the interpretation of contracts, including
> faculty union contracts, where intent is pivotal but agreement on intent,
> and therefore meaning, is all too often missing.
>
> Margaret
> -----------------------
> Dr. Margaret E. Winters
> Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Research
>
> Southern Illinois University Carbondale
> Carbondale, IL  62901-4305
>
> tel: (618) 453-5744
> fax: (618) 453-1478
> e-mail:  mew1 at siu.edu
>