Virginia Contracts Legal Questions

If you sent a draft contract to someone, and they made a change and initialed it,  if you wanted to accept the change, you would initial it next to their initials.  Since you don't agree, you should not initial it, and you can send them a letter saying you do not agree to their change.  If the contract had been agreed to and signed by both sides before the other side made a change, the contract, without the change, is still valid. If the sides never were in complete agreement, then there is no valid contract in effect.  ... Read More

I would suggest you take a full copy of the contract to a local lawyer and discuss it with him.  In general, you can not escape from a contract just because you do not have the means to pay.  On the other hand, if your employer has failed to comply with its obligations of the contract, you may be able to contend they have breached it first, would could give you ground to terminate the employment with repayment of the moving expenses.  If you do not have grounds to terminate, it may be advisable to negotiate some other arrangement with your employer - such as repaying only a portion of the moving expenses if you have a sympathetic reason to quit, or even agreement to payment over a period of time.  This answer is given in accordance with the laws of Virginia, and is based on the facts that are recited, and assumptions which may or may not be accurate. Accordingly, this response may not be relied upon and may not be applicable in any other state. It should not be relied on as legal advice, as that would require a detailed analysis of all of the facts involved in a specific case, not just the limited facts presented in the question.... Read More

In general, a contract is formed when both sides agree to the same terms.  If the landlord offered to rent you the property for $1,000 a month for one year, and you agreed to the monthly charge but wanted a lease for 2 years, there would be no contract because while you agree to the price per month, there was no agreement on the length of the lease.    If you signed at the end of a lease in the space provided for your signature, it is generally understood that you agreed to the lease, and you are bound, even if you did not sign each of the pages.  If you marked through sections of a lease, and initialed those changes, then signed at the end, the landlord can choose to hold you to your counteroffer, and accept the lease as changed, or reject the lease.  It is unclear whether you simply failed to sign certain pages, which could mean you are still bound, or whether you changed the terms such as the pricing, in which case you are not bound, unless the landlord has accepted your changes.  You will want to bring a copy of the document to a lawyer for his review. Note that even if there is no express agreement, there are times that parties are liable on an implied agreement, such as when you accept a good or service understanding it is not offered for free, even though there is no express agreement on the terms.  So if you are living in the apartment now, a court could require you to pay for each month that you lived there, at a "reasonable rate"  even without a binding lease, though in such a case, you would usually not be liable for rent after you had left the premises.... Read More

If your father refinanced his home in 2005 and received the proceeds of the loan, I do not think you have a claim against the mortgage company.  Should the mortgage company sue him, he may a defense to some of the claim if at the time he signed the documents, he was not mentally competent.  He would still likely be ordered to repay the money that he actually received from the mortgage company, but he would not necessarily have to pay for their fees in connection with the mortgage.  The fact that you have a power of attorney does not prevent third parties from dealing with your father.  If you do not think he has the capacity to handle his affairs, you may ask a court to appoint a guardian for him, please check with a local lawyer for the details.     This answer is given in accordance with the laws of Virginia, and is based on the facts that are recited, and assumptions which may or may not be accurate. Accordingly, this response may not be relied upon and may not be applicable in any other state. It should not be relied on as legal advice, as that would require a detailed analysis of all of the facts involved in a specific case, not just the limited facts presented in the question.    ... Read More

If your name is on the deed, you are an owner of the home, regardless of whether your name was put on the mortgage.  You can check the deed in the clerks office of the city/ county in which you live to see if your name is on the deed. Deeds are recorded by date, and are indexed by name, and in many cities and counties it is computerized, so you can run a computerized check to see if you are listed as grantee ( that is the name used for the person who is buying the property) in the deed.  Neither of you can sell the property without the signature of the other. ... Read More

Penalty clauses in contracts are generally un-enforceable. We would need to review the contract in order to better advise you of your rights, but if the contract characterizes the various payments as a penalty, then the chances are good that it won’t be enforceable. This answer is given in accordance with the laws of Virginia and may not be applicable in any other state.  It should not be construed as legal advice, as that would require a more thorough analysis of all of the facts involved in a specific case.  If you need further information or assistance, please feel free to contact my office for a consultation. ... Read More

The common law of contracts will apply to lease agreements to the extent not superseded by statute, such as the Virginia Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (VRLTA) which establishes various rights and obligations of landlords and tenants in Virginia.  The Virginia Dept. of Housing and Community Development publishes an excellent handbook explaining the VRLTA and its application.  It is available online. There exists under Virginia law a cause of action commonly known as fraud in the inducement, which basically means in this context that a landlord not only failed to disclose important information about crime in the area (information that a reasonable person would have considered relevant in deciding whether to sign a lease), but actually misrepresented the facts when directly asked.  In such a context, the tenant would argue he or she was fraudulently induced to enter the lease and, therefore, should be entitled to such relief (e.g., termination of the lease) as to make the tenant whole.... Read More

There is little that you can do short of selling the time share.  Having bought the timeshare, you agreed to the rules and bylaws of the community.  As such, you will be required to continue to pay all fees associated with owning the timeshare.   This is not intended to be legal advice, and is general in its nature. No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information. Furthermore, this does not represent the views or opinions of LexisNexis or its affiliated companies. ... Read More

Under the laws of property a tenant must always pay rent as long as they reside in the residence. Therefore when your lease ended the landlord may still require you to pay rent and hold you on a month to month tenancy. However, the rent cannot be higher than what you were previously paying per month under your original periodic tenancy lease unless that information was presented by the landlord prior to your lease ending. Under your first lease, you were given notice that you would need to renew your lease under the terms presented. However it doesn't sound like you were presented these terms this time. Therefore if you choose to stay then you continue on a month-to-month tendency at the current rate. Your landlord may still present you with new terms requiring a new lease and higher rates but must give you the proper amount of time (here a month) to sign the new lease or vacate the apartment. Without presenting new terms you would be on a month to month lease under the same terms of your previous lease. You must also pay close attention of what your current lease has stated in regards to a holdover tenant. Some leases contain a section on this exact question and if there are terms stated in your lease then you must follow those terms.... Read More

Typically, they cannot charge you for their error.  However, if you became aware of their error before completion, and did not notify the builder of their error, you may be held liable for the costs associated with the extra foot of space.   This is not intended to be legal advice, and is general in its nature.  No attorney-client relationship exists or is formed by this information.  Furthermore, this does not represent the views or opinions of LexisNexis or its affiliated companies.... Read More