Sec. 690. Place Of Signature
Description
This section is from the book "The Law Of Contracts", by William Herbert Page. Also available from Amazon: Commercial Contracts: A Practical Guide to Deals, Contracts, Agreements and Promises.
Sec. 690. Place Of Signature
The original statute required the contract note or memorandum to be "signed." Where the statute is so worded, the name of the party may appear at any part of the instrument if placed there with the intention of authenticating it.1 . Thus it may appear at the top,2 or as the address of the letter constituting the contract, when written by the agent of the addressee,3 or in the body of the memorandum.4 A signature across the face of a written memorandum which covers one whole side of the paper and so leaves no room for a signature at the bottom has been held sufficient.5 The name of a party in the body of a memorandum in which there are no apt words to charge him is not a sufficient signature though the entire contract is in his handwriting.6 If the statute requires the memorandum to be "subscribed " a different rule obtains. By derivation "subscribe" implies "writing beneath" and accordingly the signature must be substantially at the end of the memorandum.7 If the agreement or memorandum is drawn in duplicate and each of the parties to the contract signs one copy and delivers it to the other, the contract has the same effect as if both had signed the same copy.8
9 Boardman v. Spooner, 13 All. (Mass.) 353; 90 Am. Dec. 196.
10 Hubert v. Moreau, 2 Car. & P. 528; Carlisle v. Campbell, 76 Ala. 247.
1 Johnson v. Dodgson, 2 M. & W. 653; New England, etc., Co. v. Worsted Co., 165 Mass. 328; 52 Am. St. Rep. 516; 43 N. E. 112; Merritt v. Clason, 12 Johns. (N. Y.) 102; 7 Am. Dec. 286; Tingley v. Boom Co., 5 Wash. 644; 32 Pac. 737; 33 Pac. 1055.
2 Schneider v. Norris, 2 M. & S. 286; Drury v. Young, 58 Md. 546; 42 Am. Rep. 343; Anderson v. Mfg. Co., 30 Wash. 147; 70 Pac. 247.
3 Evans v. Hoare (1892), 1 Q. B. 593.
4 Swim v. Amos, 33 N. B. 49; New England, etc., Co. v. Worsted Co., 165 Mass. 328; 52 Am. St. Rep. 516; 43 N. E. 112; Hawkins v. Chace, 19 Pick. (Mass.) 502; Coddington v. Goddard, 16 Gray( Mass.) 436; Merritt v. Clason, 12 Johns. (N. Y.) 102; 7 Am. Dec. 286; Clason v. Bailey, 14 Johns. (N. Y.) 484; Ting-ley v. Boom Co., 5 Wash. 644; 32 Pac. 737; 33 Pac. 1055.
5 California Canneries Co. v. Sca-tena, 117 Cal. 447; 49 Pac. 462.
6 Guthrie v. Anderson, 49 Kan. 416; 30 Pac. 459; affirmed on rehearing, 47 Kan. 383; 28 Pac. 164.
7 James v. Patten, 6 N. Y. 9; 55 Am. Dec. 376.
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