THE BAIS HAVAAD HALACHA JOURNAL: Volume 5776 Issue XXXVII Beha'alosecha AMBIGUOUS CONTRACTS How much can ambiguity in a contract cost (or benefit) you in Bais Din? By: Rabbi Yosef Greenwald
Diamond Dealers
In the diamond business, many deals are conducted based on trust. It may take just a handshake to close a deal worth millions of dollars. However, without a clear contract in hand, what happens when there are ambiguous terms in the agreement? How can these differences of opinion be resolved?
For example, Reuven has a supply of diamonds, and Shimon is in the retail diamond business. Shimon looks at the inventory and agrees to buy Reuven’s diamonds. Reuven still wants to display his wares to other buyers, so they write up a contract which obligates Reuven to sell his diamonds to Shimon on a certain date.
In the interim, the price of diamonds has gone up. When Shimon arrives to make his purchase, Reuven says that he agreed to sell diamonds, but he is only selling two of them. Shimon argues that the agreement was to sell the entire group of diamonds that was discussed previously. Reuven says that he can decide how many diamonds he wishes to sell, and that he is selling the minimum of two. Who is in the right?
Diamond Dealers
In the diamond business, many deals are conducted based on trust. It may take just a handshake to close a deal worth millions of dollars. However, without a clear contract in hand, what happens when there are ambiguous terms in the agreement? How can these differences of opinion be resolved?
For example, Reuven has a supply of diamonds, and Shimon is in the retail diamond business. Shimon looks at the inventory and agrees to buy Reuven’s diamonds. Reuven still wants to display his wares to other buyers, so they write up a contract which obligates Reuven to sell his diamonds to Shimon on a certain date.
In the interim, the price of diamonds has gone up. When Shimon arrives to make his purchase, Reuven says that he agreed to sell diamonds, but he is only selling two of them. Shimon argues that the agreement was to sell the entire group of diamonds that was discussed previously. Reuven says that he can decide how many diamonds he wishes to sell, and that he is selling the minimum of two. Who is in the right?
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