Are emails legally binding contracts?
The majority of communications and negotiations in a real estate transaction are now distributed through emails. So, what exactly is considered binding?
According to the New York times, emails are just as binding during the negotiating process as an inked contract. This is according to a court ruling in New York regarding a recent real estate dispute.
The New York times wrote ““Given the vast growth in the last decade and a half in the number of people and entities regularly using e-mail,” handwriting and e-mail should now basically be considered one and the same, according to the decision in Naldi v. Grunberg, which was handed down on Oct. 5 by the Appellate Division, First Department of State Supreme Court in Manhattan. The ruling, which attracted little public notice when it was announced, was appealed on Monday to the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court.”
Bottom line, if you are giving any information prudent to any sort of a contract or negotiations, it would be in your best interest to disclaim in the email that this not a binding contract, and only a fully executed contract between both parties will be considered binding.
