A grammatical blunder may force Rogers Communications Inc. to pay an extra $2.13-million to use utility poles in the Maritimes after the placement of a comma in a contract permitted the deal’s cancellation.
The controversial comma sent lawyers and telecommunications regulators scrambling for their English textbooks in a bitter 18-month dispute that serves as an expensive reminder of the importance of punctuation.
Rogers thought it had a five-year deal with Aliant Inc. to string Rogers’ cable lines across thousands of utility poles in the Maritimes for an annual fee of $9.60 per pole. But early last year, Rogers was informed that the contract was being cancelled and the rates were going up. Impossible, Rogers thought, since its contract was iron-clad until the spring of 2007 and could potentially be renewed for another five years.
Armed with the rules of grammar and punctuation, Aliant disagreed. The construction of a single sentence in the 14-page contract allowed the entire deal to be scrapped with only one-year’s notice, the company argued.
Language buffs take note — Page 7 of the contract states: The agreement “shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five year terms, unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party.”
Rogers’ intent in 2002 was to lock into a long-term deal of at least five years. But when regulators with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) parsed the wording, they reached another conclusion.
The validity of the contract and the millions of dollars at stake all came down to one point — the second comma in the sentence.
Had it not been there, the right to cancel wouldn’t have applied to the first five years of the contract and Rogers would be protected from the higher rates it now faces.
“Based on the rules of punctuation,” the comma in question “allows for the termination of the [contract] at any time, without cause, upon one-year’s written notice,” the regulator said.
See: The Globe and Mail
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Canada
Local time: 23:35
Member (2008)
English to French
[Edited at 2011-08-09 02:5... See more
[Edited at 2011-08-09 02:50 GMT] ▲ Collapse
Spain
Local time: 05:35
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
"Subject to the termination provisions of this Agreement, this Agreement shall be effective from the date it is made and shall continue in force for a period of five (5) years fr... See more
"Subject to the termination provisions of this Agreement, this Agreement shall be effective from the date it is made and shall continue in force for a period of five (5) years from the date it is made, and may thereafter be renewed for successive five (5) year terms[,] unless said renewal period is cancelled with one year prior notice in writing by either party." ▲ Collapse
China
Local time: 11:35
Chinese to English
Whenever I translate a contract, I send a disclaimer with it, saying that I'm not a lawyer, and I make no claim that this contract will have the legal effect the client wants it to have if examined in court. I assume most agencies do the same. But these were most likely translated in-house by lawyers themselves. And if they mess up the legal drafting, there's no-one else to blame.
Portugal
Local time: 04:35
I am confused because although I have read all the links provided above I cannot work out whether the contract was signed in French or English, or both. I am also confused because I do not know much about Canadian law. I did think, however, that such contracts would include a clause which would specify which contract (either the French version or the English version) would have full force and effect in the event of a dispute. Please can someone enlighten me.
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:35
French to English
+ ...
On the other hand, if the translator didn't consult them and was just guessing, I don't understand why their guess has any special s... See more
On the other hand, if the translator didn't consult them and was just guessing, I don't understand why their guess has any special status as evidence.
[Edited at 2011-08-10 19:53 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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