Text 6 The Parol Evidence Rule

The parol evidence rule applies whenever parties put their agreement in writing, whether or not a writing is required under the Statute of Frauds. With certain exceptions, under the parol evidence rule the writing itself is the only evidence allowed in court to prove the terms of a written contract if the writing appears to be the complete agreement between the parties.

The parol evidence rule bars evidence of prior or contemporaneous (made at the same time) oral or written agreement related to the written contract being disputed if these agreements were not mentioned or included in the written contract. Under the rule, such evidence is generally not allowed to add to, subtract from, or otherwise change the written contract. The court presumes that when the parties had their agreement to writing, they included all essential terms and intended to exclude all previous agreements. Accordingly, the written contract is held to be the only evidence of their intent.

In the interests of justice, however, the trial judge will sometimes permit parol evidence to be introduced to prove certain things. These include mistake, fraud, illegality, custom and trade usage, clerical errors, and the meaning of terms. Also, when a contract is obviously ambiguous, parol evidence may be used to clarify terms to determine the true intent of the parties. Such evidence does not change the writing. Instead, it explains the meaning of the writing or shows that there never was any enforceable contract.

Vocabulary

to allege [ə’led3] заявлять, утверждать

trade usage узанс, торговое обыкновение

parol evidence rule правило, исключающее устные доказательства, изменяющие или дополняющие соглашение

ambiguous неясный, двусмысленный

contemporaneous [kən’tempə’reinjυəs] одновременный

clerical error канцелярская ошибка

to bar исключать, не допускать, запрещать