One Contract - Two Versions

[billyjeangml]

CA
If I have a agreement for 50/50 on sale of granite taken from my property by a contractor then contractor goes to quarry and submits a sale contract for 100% contractor is it valid?

 

[quincy]

Any contract that is changed requires the signatures of the parties (or the initials of the parties) to show the parties have read and agreed to the changes.

Identical contracts can be signed separately and still be valid. Different contracts signed separately are not binding on both parties.

 

[billyjeangml]

Do you mean different in actual contract template or different in what is filled in

 

[quincy]

Both.

If I sign Contract A with terms A, B, C and you sign Contract B with terms A, B, C and D, we do not have an enforceable agreement.

 

[HRZ]

Absent your signature it is quite unlikely that that contract version counts ....but your post is unclear about the version you supposedly signed ..but you claim he tricked you to sign ....

IF your timber was sold and he pocketed the money wo a valid contract ...I'd also be checking if this is a criminal matter a la theft by deception.

 

[billyjeangml]

the second contract had his - and my signature on it.

 

[billyjeangml]

@quincy
in this case it was more like - you sign Contract A with terms A, B, C, D (it get stamped received) and week later we both sign Contract B with terms A, B, C (never stamped received but is on file)

 

[quincy]

@quincy
in this case it was more like - you sign Contract A with terms A, B, C, D (it get stamped received) and week later we both sign Contract B with terms A, B, C (never stamped received but is on file)

If the logger pocketed 100% of the proceeds from the sale of the timber instead of splitting the amount 60% to him and 40% to you as agreed, you can sue him for your 40% unless he voluntarily gives you what you are owed from the sale.

I am not sure how important the Tree Farm Member and Tree Farm Incentive check marks are to the contract but your signature and proper 60/40 terms are vital. His first contract without your signature is not enforceable.

 

[HRZ]

IF logger used a contract you did NOT sign as a way to secure money and sell the tress...also take a look as if to is this a form of theft by deception...a white collar crime and also look at the processing facility as having received stolen goods and or being part of such conversion games .

 

[quincy]

IF logger used a contract you did NOT sign as a way to secure money and sell the tress...also take a look as if to is this a form of theft by deception...a white collar crime and also look at the processing facility as having received stolen goods and or being part of such conversion games .

The processing facility does not appear to have any involvement and the timber was not stolen.

If the logger pays billyjean what is owed per their original agreement, it is possible that all could end there.

Although there are certainly actions taken by the logger that are questionable at best and illegal at worst, there might not be a legal action worth the time and expense of pursuing. We really don't have enough facts to determine that.

billyjean might want to take the contracts and the facts to a legal professional in Idaho for an opinion.

 

[HRZ]

TImber theft and ' games ' are a bit of an issue in
Idaho ( and other places too ) ....OP I agree , might well be time for legal professional to look at your docuements and issues ....my suggestion is to Google a bit and ask about and seek out counsel with a track record of representing landowners in such timber issues ...
.

 

[quincy]

The problems in Idaho have to do with logging without the landowner's permission (timber trespass), which is not the case here.

 

[billyjeangml]

I have been looking for a lawyer familiar with logging issues. One issue is many that are are repping the loggers it is a close community. But I will find one (probably out of the county)

 

[quincy]

I have been looking for a lawyer familiar with logging issues. One issue is many that are are repping the loggers it is a close community. But I will find one (probably out of the county)

I think you are smart to have the two contracts and your business arrangement with the logger personally reviewed by a lawyer in your area familiar with timber sales.

The logger is not entitled to 100% of the timber sale proceeds under any circumstance I can think of, so at the very least he must pay you something. And he is probably violating a law or two with his duplicate contracts.

I think you should focus attention first on getting the money you are owed from the logger - perhaps starting with an attorney-drafted demand letter with the threat of a lawsuit. That alone might get you your 40% without the need to file a lawsuit.

Good luck.

 

[HRZ]

IF the permission to log was contained in the unsigned contract ..then at least in that contract context the logger took and transported the logs wo permission...