Private sales don't have rules? The more's the pity. Time was, a handshake
was binding, and an oral agreement was not dismissed for want of a piece of
paper.
My teenage son in Israel has spent the past year studying the Talmudic
tractate that deals with personal business agreements: "I agree to do this
or that for you, on the condition that you pay me such-and-such in return."
Or: "I agree to lend this tool to you, and you agree to take good care of
it."
While some of the legal analysis and debate hinges on written contracts, by
far the greater share deals with implied or spoken agreements and implicit
responsibility:
1. I lend you an axe, and while you use it the head comes off. Who is
responsible?
2. I agree to watch your sheep while you are away, but I do it as a favor
(for free); if a wolf kills one of your sheep, must I remunerate you?
3. I say I returned the money (or tool) that you lent me; you say I didn't.
On whom lies the burden of proof?
I am not suggesting that the conclusions adduced by the Talmud are the
"right" conclusions for all societies and economies. But say what you will
about being overly legalistic: The alternative--no rule of law--may be
worse.
------------------------------
Leonard Paris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Auctions have rules. Private sales don't.
Paul Franklin Stregevsky
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