Contract law is governed by the common law and the Uniform Commercial Code “UCC.” Common law governs contractual transactions with real estate, services, insurance, intangible assets and employment. UCC governs contractual transaction with goods and tangible objects (such as a purchase of a car).

Under the common law, a contract can only be modified if there is additional consideration for the modification. Under the UCC, however, a contract can be modified without any additional consideration. Additionally, unlike under the common law, under the UCC a contract may be discharged due to impracticability.

The common law mirror image rule tells us that to form a contract the terms of the acceptance should match the terms of the offer. Also, the UCC was concerned with circumstances where parties form a contract by conduct, and the party who sent the last form was always able to dictate the terms of the contract.

Section 2-207(1) provides that “[a] definite and seasonable expression of acceptance or a written confirmation which is sent within a reasonable time operates as an acceptance even though it states terms additional to or different from those offered or agreed upon.”

§ 2-207 explains written confirmation as: “where an agreement has been reached either orally or by informal correspondence between the parties and is followed by one or both of the parties sending formal memoranda embodying the terms so far as agreed upon and adding terms not discussed.”

the Uniform Commercial Code

five years

When signing a document, you can sign using the phrase ALL RIGHTS RESERVED or UCC 1308. By doing that, you are expressing your intention to the party receiving the document that you are legally reserving your rights or recourses against them.

Vi Coactus

UCC 1-308 Performance or acceptance under reservation of rights. (1) A party who, with explicit reservation of rights, performs or promises performance or assents to performance in a manner demanded or offered by the other party does not thereby prejudice the rights reserved.

Usually, a signature is simply someone’s name written in a stylized fashion. As long as it adequately records the intent of the parties involved in a contractual agreement, it’s considered a valid signature. Usually this mark is made by a pen, but not necessarily.

In the United States, signatures encompass marks and actions of all sorts that are indicative of identity and intent. The legal rule is that unless a statute specifically prescribes a particular method of making a signature it may be made in any number of ways. These include by a mechanical or rubber stamp facsimile.

As long as it’s correctly done, courts have upheld that imaging and scanning are just as legally binding as paper documents. Legal acceptability of scanned document images depends on the process used to create the documents.

A telltale sign of cut-and-paste in the example is the signature lines are sloped down to the right for each signature. All the computer printed text on the page was horizontal. If the signature lines were printed on the page with the rest of the printed text, they would have been printed horizontally.

Yes, electronic signatures are valid in all U.S. states and are granted the same legal status as handwritten signatures under state laws. The District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and 47 states have adopted UETA, and most of these have made few, if any, modifications to UETA.

In summary, electronic signatures are binding and will hold up in court so long as they can be authenticated. One way to ensure the authentication process is to use an electronic signature company such as DocuSign, since courts have already ruled a signature using DocuSign is presumptively valid.

E-SIGN ACT COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS

1. Step 1 – Availability of Paper Delivery or Paper Copies.
2. Step 2 – Consent Choices.
3. Step 3 – Consumer Actions.
4. Step 4 – Hardware/Software Requirements.
5. Step 5 – Affirmatively Consent.
6. Step 6 – “After Consent” Disclosure.

To qualify as an enforceable electronic signature, there must be evidence of the signer’s intent to execute or accept the agreement. This is typically accomplished by requiring the signer to take affirmative action, like typing their name or drawing their signature using a mouse or touchscreen.

DocuSign eNotary allows you to sign and notarize documents electronically.

New York’s Electronic Signatures and Records Act allows electronic notarization for real property documents. It states that the notary’s signature, seal and certificate may be electronic.

No, not unless the signer is personally appearing before the Notary at the other branch at the time of the notarization to be identified by the Notary in that branch and to sign the documents.

Currently, there are 32 states that have enacted some form of permanent remote online notarization (RON) law: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma.

Remote notarization, on the other hand, allows the signer to use two-way audio-visual communication (think Skype or FaceTime, with additional requirements related to the notarial act) to virtually appear before a notary from anywhere in the world.

California Law does not provide the authority for California notaries public to perform a remote online notarization. The personal appearance of the document signer is required before the notary public.

Notaries cannot use Skype or any other web technologies to replace the personal appearance rule. The solution to your scenario is to advise your customer to find a mobile Notary who can travel to the customer to perform the notarization. Kelle Clarke is a Contributing Editor with the National Notary Association.

A remote notary is a legally commissioned notary public who is authorized to conduct notarizations over the internet via digital tools and a live audio video call. Because remote notaries conduct their notarizations online, they have the benefit of digital tools to assist them during the process.