Author Topic: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?  (Read 2216 times)

anabolichalo

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can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« on: November 13, 2012, 04:03:30 AM »
i made a huge mistake to sign another 1 year contract and just now they called me for a better job

this is big time shit

but

the way i signed it is as follow

i printed out a pdf contract

signed 3 pages (which do not give information about the contract, just todays date) scanned them and sent them back

can they sue me if i walk away?


i mean those 3 pages dont mean anything or is the context all the proof they need?

BigCyp

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #1 on: November 13, 2012, 04:16:54 AM »
Like bigmc said bro, DNP and lots of it sooner than later.

d0nny2600

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #2 on: November 13, 2012, 05:01:50 AM »
Just photocopy yourself and go to both jobs

BigCyp

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #3 on: November 13, 2012, 05:03:44 AM »
Just photocopy yourself and go to both jobs

Haha good one

Hulkotron

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #4 on: November 13, 2012, 05:04:36 AM »
I'm sure the Wendy's will still be hiring in a year from now.

mass243

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #5 on: November 13, 2012, 05:04:44 AM »


Jay, it's too late.


d0nny2600

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #6 on: November 13, 2012, 06:13:19 AM »
it probably has legit meaning

but i'm begging them to let me go lol

otherwise pay them a years salary

 :-X
Take a shit on yourself

WOOO

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #7 on: November 13, 2012, 06:20:05 AM »
you should start drinking

snx

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #8 on: November 13, 2012, 06:42:55 AM »
Break the contract. What's the worse that'll happen? You really think they'll sue you?

Is this an employment contract? Did they pay you up-front? Just give them their money back. If they didn't pay you yet, weren't you smart enough to put a termination clause into the contract? Or just claim medical hardship/act of god, and claim you can't fulfill the duties of the contract.

Not enough details...could be good trolling.

Ron

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #9 on: November 13, 2012, 06:43:27 AM »
Yes, you can get sued if you did that, as you emailed them back from your email account and more.  Now, if you really haven't started, they just might let it go... unless you are going to work for a competitor...     but suing someone costs a lot more than you think.


El Diablo Blanco

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #10 on: November 13, 2012, 06:46:40 AM »
Nothing breaks a contract better than a full muscular.

Irongrip400

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #11 on: November 13, 2012, 06:53:32 AM »
Call a lawyer bro. You can be sued. I had a job with a non compete and they can get pretty bad if they feel you wronged them. I know of two people personally that were dealt pretty rough blows. One opened his own company, and he was sued and had to pay back a settlement to the previous employer, the other was let go from his job with a competitor because of threat of a lawsuit and had to go back to work for this company. And scanned sigs do not mean a thing as far as legitimacy. It's just like the facsimile stamp my secretary uses to endorse checks.

snx

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #12 on: November 13, 2012, 06:58:14 AM »
Yes, you can get sued if you did that, as you emailed them back from your email account and more.  Now, if you really haven't started, they just might let it go... unless you are going to work for a competitor...     but suing someone costs a lot more than you think.



...and enforcing the "work for a competitor" clause in a contract is not a slam dunk in a court of law. But, suing to make a point and create a precedent of defending your indefensible contract isn't unprecedented either. The company you'll put out in the cold by breaking your contract may wish to send you a very strong message.

Suing is expensive. But if they've got deep pockets, are you sure you want to test the strength of their paper and their legal team? And their resolve to send a message to other would-be-contract-breakers?


avxo

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #13 on: November 13, 2012, 08:07:19 AM »
You know... it seems monumentally stupid to ask for advice on legal matters on a bodybuilding board instead of actually calling a lawyer. But hey, this isn't just any bodybuilding board. It's get-fucking-big!

nefario

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #14 on: November 13, 2012, 08:15:27 AM »
You clearly signed the contract, and barring some highly unlikely language that explicitly stated that it had to be hand delivered and (possibly) no counterparts etc... it's also going to be considered "delivered."  Sorry for the blah blah blah blah.  But as others pointed out, enforcing it is an entirely different matter. There can be some nuances depending upon where you live, but at worst there might be a non-compete keeping you away from the same industry for a portion of time, and you would have mentioned that by now. Non-competes are virtually unenforceable in many jurisdictions anyway (including here in California, unless you're selling a partnership stake or a few other small exceptions, such as when trade secrets are relevant).  Don't be a dick and just work things out with them.  


snx

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #15 on: November 13, 2012, 08:15:44 AM »
Someone call Paul Hupp, LLB, immediately!

pedro01

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #16 on: November 13, 2012, 08:18:44 AM »
A contract is legally binding if you signed it. Doesn't really matter if you scanned/faxed it.

Now it all comes down to what commitments they made based on you being with them & how replaceable you are.

avxo

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #17 on: November 13, 2012, 08:20:03 AM »
tons of lawyers here no?

Sure, but have you retained any of them? Do they know the particulars of your situation, and the details of the contract in question? The state in which you live and whether "scanned and e-mailed" signatures are considered valid in your particular jurisdiction? And so and so forth. I'd suggest you see an actual lawyer and ask for his advice.

If you don't, then I would at least suggest that if the "old" job lets you out of the contract you "scan-and-mail-signed" would be to ask for something from them in writing, stating that you both mutually agree that the contract is null and void. I am not a lawyer, but this would seem like a prudent idea.


You clearly signed the contract, and barring some highly unlikely language that explicitly stated that it had to be hand delivered and (possibly) no counterparts etc... it's also going to be considered "delivered."  Sorry for the blah blah blah blah.  But as others pointed out, enforcing it is an entirely different matter. There can be some nuances depending upon where you live, but at worst there might be a non-compete keeping you away from the same industry for a portion of time, and you would have mentioned that by now. Non-competes are virtually unenforceable in many jurisdictions anyway (including here in California, unless you're selling a partnership stake or a few other small exceptions, such as when trade secrets are relevant).  Don't be a dick and just work things out with them. 

Good post right there. Are non-competes really unenforceable in California modulo the few exceptions you list? Interesting.

nefario

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #18 on: November 13, 2012, 08:33:50 AM »

Good post right there. Are non-competes really unenforceable in California modulo the few exceptions you list? Interesting.

Yeah they can only be used in very, very narrow situations. The state is philosophically against them, so even if you work for a Delaware or NY company in Cal, it's not going to suddenly hold up on that basis.  The trade secret exception was a recent development, coming out of a court case, and it's nice for me, as I'm an IP / corp type of lawyer so it's an extra layer of protection for my clients. The ownership and partnership scenarios have been around for awhile and make sense...you need to be able to provide assurances to the buyer / partners that you're not going to undermine the value of the good will that they're acquiring in the entity's name etc...

Agnostic007

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #19 on: November 13, 2012, 08:41:30 AM »
Odd question. How would anyone on this board know any better than you if your new employer would be willing to wait? If I were the employer and it was a matter of waiting a week or two, I would appreciate that you were not leaving your current employer in the lurch. You have a problem you really need to address with your prospective employer. Before you leave a sure thing, you need to have the new job sewn up, so I would be talking to them and getting something concrete before leaving my current job

Big Chiro Flex

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #20 on: November 13, 2012, 09:51:17 AM »
The real question is, do you have enough gas in the tank to WIN?

Jay Cutler does.

Voice of Doom

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #21 on: November 13, 2012, 09:59:52 AM »
Yes, you can get sued if you did that, as you emailed them back from your email account and more.  Now, if you really haven't started, they just might let it go... unless you are going to work for a competitor...     but suing someone costs a lot more than you think.



There might be a severability clause.  talk to your employer.

d0nny2600

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #22 on: November 13, 2012, 10:44:12 AM »
You could always just off yourself

Tito24

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Re: can i break my contract if i signed it by printing and scanning?
« Reply #23 on: November 13, 2012, 11:07:25 AM »