Lawyers should prefer workable settlements over laying foundations for lawsuits

Evidence

I think that this definition - unlike provisions dealing with mere contingencies - ought to be worked out as exactly as possible. When a regularly recurring obligation such as the payment of rent is in question, people ought to be told as unambiguously as possible just what they are supposed to do so as to avoid unnecessary controversy. lo be sure, the Ames courts would be likely to resolve ambiguities in favor of landlords. But I take it that we are more interested in getting a workable settlement than in laying the foundations for a successful lawsuit. To this end I think we should be willing even to suggest clarifications in Tempest’s favor, such as the sales tax point dealt with in the draft below. — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process, 3395

Categorization

• DEFINE: Articulates the drafting principle separating recurring obligations from contingent provisions.
• XREF: connects to: Courts hesitate to imply lease conditions, forcing lawyers to draft explicit contingency clauses — Henry M. Hart, Jr. and Albert M. Sacks, The Legal Process: Basic Problems in…, 3411