Texas Contracts Legal Questions

If they are already employed by you and working under a written or verbal agreement it is typically not a good idea to fire someone after the fact for not signing an addtional agreement. Also, your noncompete must be reasonable.    For an noncompete to be legally binding for current employees, you must provide valid consideration (something of value). This might include:✅ A promotion, raise, or bonus in exchange for signing.✅ Access to confidential business information they wouldn’t otherwise already have.... Read More

You loaned him money based on his agreement to repay you.  There is no need for a written contract, an oral contract will do.  However, in situations where a writing is required, it would generally (unless it expressly provides otherwise) only have to be signed by the party against whom it is being enforced, here the borrower.  To the extent that any court deems the time of repayment to be ambiguous, which I doubt, it is nevertheless likely to conclude that the borrower is required to pay when he gets his next tax refund (I assume you meant refund, not return).  If the contract had not set forth any time for repayment, the court would imply a reasonable time under the circumstances; it is very doubtfal that any court would hold that the borrower had years to pay under these circumstances, unless he has some strong evidence that this was agreed to.... Read More

Codicils can range from a simple matter of changing the name of a beneficiary to redoing an entire estate plan, meaning that drafting them can take 10 minutes or 50 hours.  It isn't one size fits all.  Either way they have to be executed as formally as the will itself.  If you were overcharged, you may be able to recover the overage, if only because the attorney is afraid of having you accuse him/her of wrongdloing.  However, while rates vary considerably across the country (and some attorneys charge a flat rate for a will or codicil), where I practice in NYC most attorneys charge more than $400 per hour, and it is unlikely that drafting the codicil and supervising its execution (whcih I assume the attorney handled) took much less than an hour.... Read More

Probably.  Presumably the contract requries you to pay for the services provided by the school, and nowhere provides that your obligation to pay was contingent on your child liking the school.  In order to avoid that obligation, you would have to prove that the school didn't perform its obligation, which you may be able to do if you can prove that the teacher ws incompetent and/or a bully, but it's an uphill climb.... Read More

Depending on how your lease is worded concerning the paid parking spaced, the apartment complex might be in violation of the lease. You could hire an attorney to write a demand letter and negotiate with the apartment complex to address the issues. The complex might respond if an attorney contacts them.... Read More

It depends on what "legal document" your grandfather left. If the legal document could be interpreted to be a Will, then it would need to have been probated. If there is no Will and your grandparents built the hosue during their marraige AND did not have any other children outside of the marriage, most likely the only signature needed on a deed is your grandmother's.... Read More

No, unless the date was somehow material to the contract, for example if you were too young to sign the contract on May 23, but were of age as of May 24, or if the contract gave them 2 weeks to move out and they moved out 2 weeks from May 24, but two weeks and one day from May 23.  A mere error in date that has no affect on the performance of the contract doesn't make it invalid.... Read More

You can not be released from liability to the lender unless the lender agrees to it.  No agreement between you and any buyer, without the lender, can affect the lender's rights.  The most such an agreement would accomplish would be to require the buyer to repay you for any money you had to pay on the car loan, but if the buyer doesn't have the money to cover it, or can't be located, you are still on the hook.  Moreover, unless your contract explicitly provides for the right to repossess the car on default before obtaining a judgment, you have no right to do so, and in any event your rights would always be subordinate to the lender's.... Read More

Non-compete covenants are more carefully scrutinized by courts than other types of agreements, and there may be reasons that your non-compete will not be enforced, but the fact that only you signed it is probably not one of them.  As a general rule, to be enforced a contract only has to be signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought.... Read More

The answer to this question depends on what his loan documents say. More than likely, he would be responsible for the balance of the loan that is not satisfied by the sale of the vehicle. However, he should contact the company and ask them to work out a settlement with him with payments he can afford. Otherwise, the company will likely get a judgment against him. If that happens, he can still work out a payment plan to pay the judgment. It's better for him to work it out before it goes that far.... Read More

  If I understand you correctly, you're asking if you can collect damages for breach of contract without first getting a Court to issue a judgment.  The answer is no.  First, while you claim that the other side breached the contract, the other side no doubt tells a different story; if you can't resolve your differences, a court will have to decide.  Second, there are several legal requirements which liquidated damages provisions must meet to be enforceable.  A court may decide that, even though the other side breached the contract, the liquidated damages provisions in your contract are unenforceable, and then you would have to prove your actual damages.... Read More

Since he's over 18, he can't rescind the contract based on being a minor. By now any other provision allowing a termination of the contract may have expired. However, you could go to the dealership with him and ask them to take the car back and give you son his money back. They may do so just to avoid any potential publicity or headache from the situation.... Read More

You could report the issue to Adult Protective Services. They have a hotline to call and a link for you to make a report online as well: https://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Contact_Us/report_abuse.asp Also, you could contact the probate court in the county where you father lives and ask them to open an investigation to determine whether you father needs a guardianship so that someone will be appointed to be guardian of his person and estate.... Read More

In general, at least in the states in which I practice, a contract does not need to be signed by both parties unless the contract itself, or the communication transmitting the offer, requires it.  A contract, even if it has to be in writing (most types of contracts are enforceable even if not in writing) need be signed only by the party to be charged.  For example, Section 5-701 of the N.Y. General Obligations Law, which provides for the types of contracts which must be in writing (contracts which cannot be performed in one year, for the sale of real property, to answer for someone else's debts, etc.) provides that such a contract "is void, unless it or some note or memorandum thereof be in writing, and subscribed by the party to be charged therewith ... ."  In other words, if I claim that you have breached the contract, I need only show that YOU agreed to it by signing.  I also have to show that I performed my part of it, but I don't have to show that I signed it. Again, even if for some reason the written contract was unenforeable, an oral agreement to perform remodeling services generally would be enforceable.  Also, if he provided services and for some reason the contract was invalid, he would still be entitled to recover for the reasonable value of the services he provided (known as "quantum meruit.") In sum, you may be able to succeed on your claim that the contractor breached by not doing the job right, but I don't think the fact that he didn't sigh the contract and you did is going to be very helpful.  Again, I don't practice in Texas, and the law may be different there.... Read More

Only in rare circumstances not present here (for example, an engagement ring given to a person who calls off the wedding) can the donor compel the recipient to return a gift.  However, there is no gift involved in your situaiton.  Your friend paid you for the pills (I assume these were over the counter pills) with his ipad.  That's a sale, not a gift, and there's nothing in your email to suggest that there are grounds for setting it aside.... Read More