North Carolina - Breach of Contract

[chtulu]

I just went through this in washington state. The lawsuit also included conversion of property and gross enrichment.

[Nune]

All the young lawyers on these forums and none of em showing up to forumcourt to help Roedog. My girls cousin is a lawyer, ill copy/paste him your original post and let you know what he says tomorrow

[runlvlzero]

Originally Posted by Nune [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

All the young lawyers on these forums and none of em showing up to forumcourt to help Roedog. My girls cousin is a lawyer, ill copy/paste him your original post and let you know what he says tomorrow

I'm curious post it here. Cause I want to be a young legal aid.

[rike]

why nc? i'm in ncccccccccccccccccccccc

[Frieza_Prexus]

You are not my client. My only advice is to consult a qualified lawyer familiar with NC law. That said, my random musings are as follows: The others pretty much covered this, but a few additional points.

1) You need to read the contract closely. There might be a clause that specifically allows them to do this.

2) Watch out for arbitration clauses and other things that limit your ability to contest this.

Your issue does not seem to be with the automatic renewal, but with the company unilaterally modifying the agreement. Evergreen (auto-renewal) contracts are legal in NC, but subject to some restrictions. If their contract violates any of these NC restrictions the auto renew is invalid, and you can perhaps use that to your advantage.

Evergreen contracts are generally considered as one contract that continues forever (or until stopped in a way allowed by the contract). Parties generally cannot modify a contract after it has formed unless the contract itself allows for it OR both parties agree. If they have already billed you under the modified contract and you knew or should have known about the change and still paid you have likely accepted or "ratified" the change and you might be SOL. Or, if the contract's fine print allows for unilateral modification, you're screwed.

If they have no basis for this modification (the existing contract does not explicitly allow OR you did not agree), the modified contract will be seen as an offer of an entirely NEW contract (This new offer may or may not have killed the old contract based upon the specified/allowed ways of terminating the old evergreen contract). If the modification is a NEW contract you will not be bound because there is no "mutual assent" present. In short, both parties must agree to be bound by a contract's terms, and you have not agreed to be bound by these new terms (UNLESS YOU DID AGREE - READ THE OLD CONTRACT CAREFULLY)

A 2011 NC Appeal Court case found here discusses how mutual assent is found.

The following cases are cited in the linked case above.

Originally Posted by Snyder v. Freeman, 300 N.C. 204, 218, 266 S.E.2d 593, 602 (1980)

The essence of any contract is the mutual assent of both parties to the terms of the agreement so as to establish a meeting of the minds.”

Originally Posted by Creech v. Melnik, 347 N.C. 520, 527, 495 S.E.2d 907, 912 (1998)

Mutual assent is normally established by an offer by one party and an acceptance by the other, which offer and acceptance are essential elements of a contract.”

In short, you simply say that you never agreed to the new terms, and that the following cases clearly spell out what it takes for parties to agree. Remember, read the old contract carefully. It may have language allowing for unilateral modification. If it does, it can be overcome, but it will be a hell of a battle.

[Langrisserx]

^ fuckin pro tips A+