Is a service contract enforceable without the vendor’s signature?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Is a service contract enforceable without the vendor’s signature?
Both parties reside in CA, and events occurred in CA. We hired a video production crew to film an event. They emailed us a contract that listed all the services that they would perform and costs. We signed it and faxed it back to them, and paid all the costs according to the contract. There was a place on the contract for the video company to sign, but it was blank on the email that they sent. The contract stated that they would produce 2 videos for us (1 short and 1 long) from the footage that they shot. They gave us only the short video.
Asked on March 2, 2011 under General Practice, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
1) For a contract to be enforceable, it needs to show offer, acceptance, and consideration (basically, payment). If one party creates a contract and sends it to the other, then the other party signs it as is and returns it, that's enough to create an enforceable contract--they extended an offer (by creating and sending you the contract) and you accepted it (by signing). Since they created the contract and sent it to you, your signature makes it operative; they did not need to also sign it.
2) An enforcable contract is enforceable against either/both parties, so if they contracted to produce 2 videos but only produced one, you may have grounds for legal action against them.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.