R. Allen Stanford Took a Blood Oath to Hide a Scam

Is a contract written in blood enforceable in court? No. 

 It is hard to imagine that in 2009, people would ever resort to using blood to write contracts.  However, in 2009, the courts address two different contracts written in blood. The first was a $170,000 loan between two friends.  The loan agreement was written in blood on a napkin. The second was an agreement to commit a crime between two companies.  The company executives swore a blood oath in a brotherhood ceremony.  The court ruled the contracts are unenforceable.

What can you, as a small business owner, learn from these cases? First, a contract to commit a crime is not enforceable in court. Ever. Second, a valid contract does not need blood to be enforced by a judge.  Parties to a contract must exchange promises where each party agrees to give up something or do something.  This exchange is called “legal consideration”.  A simple example is a car purchase.  The car owner is giving up his car. The car buyer is giving up her money.  This is an exchange or legal consideration, so a judge would enforce this contract.  Without this exchange, the contract is merely a gift.  And gifts, even if written in blood, are not enforceable. 

Do you a legal question about contracts? We offer free consultations on this and other issues. Chat, live and privately, online with an attorney  every Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Sharmil McKee | Business Lawyer | blog@mckeeoffice.com