Bears to the Sum of ?

[Johndoe111]

In California, if a documents states "Bears to the Sum of" - what does it mean ? I can only find this term used in very high end legislative government documents, for example , and caveat I think this one is from Canada, but it's the best example I could find online (hence this forum posting) :

"the amount payable to the provinces in respect of the extended health care services program pursuant to subsection 23(2) of the Act bears to the sum of the amounts of the entitlements of all provinces,"

So if I have a contract and it says : "John Doe will pay $100,000 bears to the sum of $300,000" - what does it mean ?

I have been told it means there's $300,000 to divide between the other person mentioned in the contract, so there's $150,000 allocated against this debt already so effectively it means I get $50k paid to me, instead of $150k.

I have been told it means "no more than $300,000" so for example if there were penalities or interests etc. it means they cannot be more than $300k.

I have been told it's a factoring mechanism and somehow $100k / $300k = 0.33 so then $100k I owe x 0.33, means I pay and additional 33% basically, but who ever heard of such a strange interest or penalty calculation on a debt and no time frame and not real interest.

It doesn't make sense, this arcane term is basically only used in Government documents.

 

[LdiJ]

I am not familiar with that phrase at all so I am unable to help you. Do you know who the attorney was who wrote up the contract? They could tell you.

You mentioned the term "factoring" and that is a financing method used sparsely in the US. It is more common in Europe. Factoring is when a manufacturer "sells" an invoice, at a discount, to a lender/factor. So, lets say that a manufacturer has invoiced a distributor 300,000 for product. The manufacturer might sell the invoice for 250k. The factor then collects 300,000 on the invoice, making a profit of 50,000.

However, 100,000 bears to the sum of 300,000 would not make any sense under factoring so I still am uncertain what it means.

 

[Johndoe111]

well maybe factoring is the wrong term or by that i meant in a purely mathematical rather than legal sense and X bears to the sum of Y means that X is somehow added to or subtracted from Y in some formula.

in my experience lawyers tend to write things confusing deliberately since a large part of their revenues come from disputes, the more confusing they can make things the more lucrative a contract potentially becomes in the future.....

"it's always a conflict of interest to hire a lawyer" as they say.....

 

[LdiJ]

well maybe factoring is the wrong term or by that i meant in a purely mathematical rather than legal sense and X bears to the sum of Y means that X is somehow added to or subtracted from Y in some formula.

in my experience lawyers tend to write things confusing deliberately since a large part of their revenues come from disputes, the more confusing they can make things the more lucrative a contract potentially becomes in the future.....

"it's always a conflict of interest to hire a lawyer" as they say.....

I have never heard of "bears to" even in mathematical theory, so I still cannot help you. Responders are pretty quick on this forum so I am guessing that so far, nobody else can either.

 

[justalayman]

While laws are written in such a manner as the average person is confused, while there is truth in the statement that many laws are poorly written and cause confusion, in reality laws are written using specific language to be very defined in their statement. Specific terms and phrases are used because the convey a very specific meaning. The fact average joe doesn’t understand the law doesn’t mean they are poorly written.

 

[justalayman]

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(z14bdraojepbqagu1gqpsnhm))/mileg.aspx?page=GetMCLDocument&objectname=mcl-445-1303


That law uses the term.

Google the term in quotes. You will get some returns that do provide insight into the term


In fact there appears to be use in many laws. I suspect taxing matters may be able to explain the term. Hopefully he will catch wind of this thread and comment.

 

[LdiJ]

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(z14bdraojepbqagu1gqpsnhm))/mileg.aspx?page=GetMCLDocument&objectname=mcl-445-1303


That law uses the term.

Google the term in quotes. You will get some returns that do provide insight into the term

I have already done that and there is nothing that I can find, even reading your link, that seems to explain what it might mean in OP's context. I also think that OP found the same things that we did because of his comments regarding Canada and factoring.

In fact there appears to be use in many laws. I suspect taxing matters may be able to explain the term. Hopefully he will catch wind of this thread and comment.

Hopefully Taxing Matters will be familiar with the term, but I still think that asking for an explanation from the attorney who authored the contract would likely produce the best results.

 

[justalayman]

Given I saw many uses of the term, I suspect op can learn a lot by reading the laws using the terms. The context provides a lot of benefit. I have come to a conclusion as to the meaning by simply reading it in many situations it is used

I suspect taxing matters will be able to define the term certain it is used multiple times in federal tax laws.


As to asking the attorney who wrote whatever: I’m not certain there is any document in op’s hands where the writer could determine the writer. I suspect it’s more of an educational endeavor than a practical one.

 

[adjusterjack]

In California, if a documents states "Bears to the Sum of" - what does it mean ?

What document are you looking at and why is this of concern to you?

Give us some context and you might get more helpful comments.

By the way,

I have been told

Is the most dangerous phrase in the English language. It could be "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

 

[quincy]

"Bears to the sum of" is an allotment ratio.

 

[adjusterjack]

The phrase "bears to the sum of" is rather meaningless by itself but has a variety of meanings depending on the context.

For example, an auto insurance policy may have the following provision:

"we will pay the proportion of damages payable as primary that our applicable limit bears to the sum of our applicable limit and the limits of all other underinsured motor vehicle coverage that apply as primary coverage."

The Social Security Rehabilitation Act of 1973:

"Sec. 110. [29 U.S.C. 730] (a) (1) Subject to the provisions of subsection (c) of this section, for each fiscal year beginning before October 1, 1978, each State shall be entitled to an allotment of an amount bearing the same ratio to the amount authorized to be appropriated under section 720(b)(1) of this title for allotment under this section as the product of—
(A) the population of the State; and
(B) the square of its allotment percentage, bears to the sum of the corresponding products for all the States."

A Fidelity retirement plan document:

"if any amount of the Employer’s contribution remains after Step 2, your Plan account will receive an
amount determined by the ratio that the sum of your Compensation and excess Compensation (if any) bears to the sum of the Compensation and excess Compensation of all participants entitled to receive a share of the contribution,"

Hence the need to identify OP's document and reason for asking.