A Quick ‘Yes’ Can Create a Binding Contract, Even If There Has Not Been Agreement on All Terms
Even an informal email can constitute acceptance of a contractual offer, warns The In-House Advisor.
“Moreover, just a few months ago, Judge Timothy Hillman took this principle one step further by ruling, in Witt v. American Airlines, that an exchange of emails can form a binding settlement agreement, even if the parties have not agreed to all of the terms of that settlement,” explains author Shepard Davidson, a Burns Levinson partner.
The judge found that both sides had agreed to a settlement in an email exchange. When the plaintiff later tried to reopen discussions, American Airlines filed a motion to enforce settlement agreement. The court allowed the motion.
