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Can a customer legally cancel a contract if he signed but did not date the contract?

Asked over 2 years ago - Houston, TX

Our employee signed and dated the bottom of the remodeling contract. Directly underneath, the customers signed the contract (both the son and the father) but neither one dated the contract next to their names. They also gave us a deposit for 50% of the amount of the remodel. They have three days right of rescission to cancel the contract, but they waited 10 days to let us know that they now want to cancel and want their deposit back. We have already processed this contract and have ordered the materials. They are stating that they never dated the contract so it is not legal.

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Attorney answers (2)

William J. Dyer

Reputation Level 14

Answered over 2 years ago. Lawsuit / Dispute Attorney in Houston, TX.

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Unless the contract was very peculiarly drawn up to specifically state, in so many words, that no contractual obligation would be established unless and until the date blank was filled in -- and in 30 years of law practice, I've never drafted or even seen a contract like that -- then your customers are wrong. Their signatures were an adequate proof of their assent and intention to be bound. If the precise date the signature was affixed becomes important -- as it might be if the contract or applicable law gave someone a three-day opt-out right -- then even if the date blank was not filled in, a court would accept other sorts of evidence (e.g., your oral testimony if you watched them sign it) to determine the date of signature.

Without knowing the entire situation I can't give any informed guesses as to how this is going to turn out. Your customers might have other, better defenses than this one, for example. But if all they've got as a defense to their nonperformance is a quibble about an empty date blank, then they've got nothin' -- just a confused layman's misunderstanding of the importance of technicalities which isn't duplicated in the actual law.

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Ronald Lee Burdge

Reputation Level 17

Answered over 2 years ago. Lemon Law Attorney in Dayton, OH.

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Bill is right on the money. If it isn't in the contract, then the fact that the date was left blank will not likely amount to anything here. Generally there is no right to cancel a contract for anything in life unless there is something written down in your contract paperwork that gives it to you, but you may not be stuck because there may be other ways to cancel a contract. In most states, your legal rights in a contract are mostly determined by the paperwork that you sign. Some state laws which govern some specific industries may have a right to cancel, such as dance lessons or spa memberships, but that depends on your state’s specific laws. You should talk to a local Business Law attorney near you and find out what your state laws say. Call your local attorney's Bar Association and ask for a referral to a Business Law attorney near you. But if you have a legal problem now then you should act quickly because for every legal right you have, there is only a limited amount of time to actually file a lawsuit in court or your rights expire (it's called the statute of limitations), so don't waste your time getting to a Business Law attorney and finding out what your rights are. If this answer was helpful, please check the box below.

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