The idea of a signed contract is held pretty sacrosanct among modern humans. Once your Hancock hits that dotted line, it’s done and dusted, your word is bond, etcetera, etcetera. In a world filled with all sorts of predatory legal activity, it can make them terrifying… just not enough for anyone to actually bother reading them. If you were short-sighted enough to sign something you didn’t fully understand, only to find out there’s all sorts of provisions you weren’t squared with, you’re still screwed, right?
Well, maybe. The public sentiment on contracts can feel closer to a devil deal than the way that they legally work. Just because you signed a contract doesn’t automatically make it valid. There’s lots of reasons that a contract that’s in theory all sewn up can be found to be unenforceable — everything from technical errors in the contract, to ambiguity, to “unconscionable terms” might be grounds to have some or all of a contract ruled invalid. Of course, as is the case with a lot of legal issues regardless of chance of success, you’ll still need the resources to fight it.
Martians Can’t Sue
There’s a very low chance this will ever be relevant to your life, but it’s worth mentioning just for the masterful way in which a Canadian judge beat a highly unusual plaintiff at their own game. In 1999, Rene Joly sued a whole lot of people and companies for persecution, including the CIA. This all revolved around his central claim, that being that he was a Martian cloned from organic space waste owned by the CIA.
Unfortunately, in addition to tossing out the case as frivolous, Judge Gloria Epstein also threw it out because, in her words: “Rule 1.03 defines plaintiff as ‘a person who commences an action.’ The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary defines person as ‘an individual human being.’ Section 29 of the Interpretation Act provides that a person includes a corporation. It follows that if the plaintiff is not a person in that he is neither a human being nor a corporation, he cannot be a plaintiff as contemplated by the Rules of Civil Procedure. The entire basis of Mr. Joly’s actions is that he is a martian, not a human being. There is certainly no suggestion that he is a corporation. I conclude therefore, that Mr. Joly, on his pleading as drafted, has no status before the Court.”
Basically, she hit him with “I’m sorry, I don’t practice Mars Law.”