The Textual Canons in Contract Cases: A Preliminary Study
30 Pages Posted: 17 Nov 2022 Last revised: 4 Jan 2023
Date Written: November 10, 2022
Abstract
This Essay is a first effort to explore how linguistic canons function in contract cases. Most lawyers know about ejusdem generis, expressio unius, and noscitur a sociis from their work in statutory interpretation, but no one has attempted any systematic inquiry into how these canons figure in contract interpretation. Looking at two jurisdictions’ use of textual canons in contract cases over time and in careful detail, this Essay reports findings and offers preliminary conclusions, about the specific jurisdictions under review and more generally in a comparative vein, both inter-jurisdictionally and as compared to what we know about the same canons’ use within practices of statutory interpretation.
Keywords: Ejusdem generis, noscitur a socs, expressio unius, inclusio unius
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