If an agreement is made for rental of equipment via email and there is a formal quote but no signature, is the agreement still binding?
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If an agreement is made for rental of equipment via email and there is a formal quote but no signature, is the agreement still binding?
The email correspondence is as follows: The party agrees to rental quote by typing “Perfect!, thanks!”. Then agrees to the set up date by typing “sounds good”.The rental gets installed and is paid on time for 2 weeks. Half way through the third week the rental is canceled. Does the equipment company have any legal position to request the quote amount or at least a **** fee?
Asked on January 28, 2015 under Business Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
The rental company should have a good claim to the amount due under the quote. A contract does not have to be a single document titled "contract" and signed by hand by both parties; whether, a contract is formed whenever there is demonstrated agreement by the two parties to the same terms and an exchange of consideration (or something of value), and agreement can be shown by actions as well as by words. Here you have words that show an agreement to the terms, even if there is no signature, per se; and you have the act of accepting the equipment and paying for it for two weeks, which is 100% consistent with there being agreement to the quote's terms (and which is inconsistent with there being no agreement). Under these circumstances, you should be able to show there was in fact a contract or agreement, and therefore you should be able to enforce it in court.
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