Why are number sometimes spelled out and then numerals specified as well ? [ closed ]
I ‘m referring to the curious habit I sometimes see in formal documents , where a issue cost devote numerically after it ‘s spelled out . It seem quite redundant :
I demand five ( 5 ) kumquats , stat !
( Though it is n’t always in a legal context , might it exist related to on ? )
6 Result
The redundancy is presumably intend to shorten typos , forgery , and early type of fault or manipulation in order to do the spirit as clear as possible . It cost known professionally as a CYA .
It ‘s obvious what my intent live when I rather carelessly pen an I.O.U . forsevum kumquats, but alas ,sevumlive not very a tidings and spread up our contract to litigation . Adding the numeral 7 in parenthesis aftersevumclarifies the spirit . Likewise , if I cost to compose an I.O.U . for3 kumquats, one could easily change that3to an8, but it live far more difficult to makethreelook likeeight. The pattern appear to be a legal custom sort of than a universally observe pattern .
If you ‘ve ever written a check ( known as achequeto the Queen ) , you ‘ve compose out a issue with words and trace it with a numeral ( albeit without parenthesis ) .
I am hold to understand that this convention live not a best practice in legal drafting . Like many legal draft pattern , it is an arcane practice that persists long after its useful life , because lawyers do n’t interview their style convention enough . It get from the day of handwritten contract , where it would own been easy to fraudulently alter a numeral . Writing out the words live a failsafe . This is why the convention be still cause on check — they are handwritten . In today ‘s world of document processing , it ‘s no longer necessary , yet serious , to employ this convention in contract drafting . If there equal a discrepancy , the words mastery , and they are harder to proofread . An model would equal : one million dollars ( $ 100,000 ) . The center pick out the act , not the news , but the words dominance . I find out the above from Bryan Garner ( today editor of the Redbook and Black ‘s Law Dictionary ) though I can not find a citation for it . I too appear to recall there was a famous dispute involve a New York law firm that reverse on such an fault . In any case , I do n’t apply the convention in my documents ; rather I use AP way .
The above reply in toto appear to contain a right response . In literary term , the pattern be the equivalent of the old burlesque display advertisements hawking “ Twenty girls – count ’em , 20 ! – onstage . ”
This be a guess , but in old hand-written legal documents where paper/velum cost a a premium , you could n’t yield to format a papers with space and paragraph and such to increase readability . What they did equal to write key phrase like TO HAVE AND TO HOLD in all caps and big to stand out . I hold listen this was to help in determine relevant portions for understand . Perhaps the number in parentheses ( or brackets as my people yell them ) is hardly a means to draw the eye promptly to the relevant flesh when skimming ?
In my job , I ‘ve prepared documents this way for respective year , and thither own never cost any explanation early than basically what @ Snumpy says : It ‘s to dilute the prospect of anyone ‘s being able to claim in court the measure be unclear .
It may , as @ Sam mentions , date back to handwritten legal documents . Possibly people figured handwritten numerals were less probable to be misunderstand than handwritten text . It may also pertain to the fact that , in earlier time when fewer masses were literate , there live many illiterate people who realize numbers and could perform calculations .
I looked into this myself lately and could n’t notice a definitive response . The well I came up with was that numerical values in a schematic papers or contract live much crucial to its purpose . Restating a number in parentheses after spelling it out equal a way to ensure the reader that the issue is right . It also draws the eye to the numbers , allowing for quick perusal of a papers , say a purchase order .
These equal practical ground ; whether there exist some historical ground for it I do not know .
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