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it cannot be read, the enforceability of the agreement can be challenged.
It must be understood though that small print does not automatically make
the agreement invalid. The enforceability of a contract will thus have to be
established on a case-by-case basis. It does however provide grounds to
challenge the validity of an agreement based on the fine print.
It is recommended that you consult your attorney regarding the enforceability
of the car dealership agreement, taking into account the fine print as well as
the provisions of the CPA.

How to interpret time periods in a contract

April 2018

“I was recently reading my standard cell phone contract and was amazed to
notice how many items were linked to days. It wasn’t immediately clear to me
if it was calendar days or business days or even when these days start running.
Is there a standard rule for how this works?”

In most cases, a contract will a have a list of definitions or an interpretation clause
which will spell out exactly how a “day”, “week” or “month” in the contract must
be interpreted and define the way in which the time period must be calculated
in order to determine the expiry of a deadline. However, where such definitions
or interpretation guidance is not provided in the contract, our law provides for
interpretation guidelines which can be applied to provide an answer.
Firstly, one must seek the common intention of the parties, based on the wording
of the contract, with regards to the calculation of time periods. If the intention of
the parties cannot be determined, one would have to revert to what is known as
the ‘civil method’ for the computation of time. This method for interpretation of
“days” is to include the day on which the period begins to run and exclude the
last day unless there are special circumstances which justify a departure from
Litigation this rule in which case the natural method of computation will be used.
One also has to consider the way in which a period is worded. Is the prescribed
action required before or after the period or can it be any time within a period?
For example, if a lease agreement provides that the notice of extension of the
lease can be provided in the last two months of the lease period, then this will
allow notice of extension to be made at any time in the two-month period and
not necessarily on the first or last day of the period.
Generally, the contract will provide sufficient guidance to be able to clearly
establish what the relevant periods are. Should you however be uncertain or
have doubts regarding the exact interpretation of time periods, it would be

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