{"id":191,"date":"2015-04-15T20:59:59","date_gmt":"2015-04-15T20:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amerilawyer-blog.local\/?p=191"},"modified":"2026-08-11T11:19:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T15:19:10","slug":"are-written-contracts-enforceable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amerilawyer.com\/blog\/business\/are-written-contracts-enforceable","title":{"rendered":"Are Written Contracts Enforceable? The Parole Evidence Rule"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amerilawyer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Blog-Images-9-scaled.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"679\" src=\"https:\/\/www.amerilawyer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Blog-Images-9-1024x679.png\" alt=\"Two people signing a written contract at a desk, one holding a pen\" class=\"wp-image-25931\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.amerilawyer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Blog-Images-9-1024x679.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.amerilawyer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Blog-Images-9-300x199.png 300w, https:\/\/www.amerilawyer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Blog-Images-9-768x509.png 768w, https:\/\/www.amerilawyer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Blog-Images-9-1536x1019.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.amerilawyer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Blog-Images-9-2048x1359.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n<style>\n.al-btn {\n  display:inline-block;background:#1F479C;color:#fff !important;font-family:sans-serif;font-size:13px;font-weight:600;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:0.66px;text-decoration:none;padding:14px 32px;border-radius:4px;transition:background 0.2s;\n}\n.al-btn:hover, .al-btn:visited, .al-btn:focus, .al-btn:active { background:#E94235;color:#fff !important;text-decoration:none; }\n\n.al-body {\n  color:#334155;font-size:15px;font-family:sans-serif;line-height:1.9;\n}\n.al-body a { color:#1F479C;font-weight:600;text-decoration:none; }\n.al-body a:hover { color:#E94235;text-decoration:underline; }\n\nh2.al-h2 {\n  color:#1F479C !important;font-size:26px !important;font-family:sans-serif;font-weight:700 !important;margin:60px 0 16px;line-height:1.35;\n}\n.al-h3 {\n  color:#000;font-size:22px;font-family:sans-serif;font-weight:700;margin:32px 0 12px;\n}\n\n.al-back-link {\n  display:inline-block;color:#1F479C;font-size:12px;font-family:sans-serif;text-decoration:none;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:0.66px;margin-bottom:12px;\n}\n.al-back-link:hover { color:#E94235; }\n\n.al-intro-box {\n  background:#F5F7FF;border-left:4px solid #1F479C;padding:24px 28px;border-radius:0 6px 6px 0;margin-bottom:32px;\n}\n.al-intro-box p { color:#334155;font-size:15px;font-family:sans-serif;line-height:1.9;margin:0; }\n.al-intro-box a { color:#1F479C;font-weight:600;text-decoration:none; }\n.al-intro-box a:hover { color:#E94235;text-decoration:underline; }\n\n.al-alert-box {\n  background:#FEF6F5;border-left:4px solid #E94235;padding:24px 28px;border-radius:0 6px 6px 0;margin:32px 0;\n}\n.al-alert-box p { color:#334155;font-size:15px;font-family:sans-serif;line-height:1.9;margin:0; }\n.al-alert-label {\n  display:block;color:#E94235;font-size:12px;font-weight:700;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:0.66px;margin-bottom:8px;\n}\n\n.al-disclaimer {\n  color:#64748B;font-size:13px;font-family:sans-serif;line-height:1.8;font-style:italic;border-top:1px solid #E2E8F0;padding-top:20px;margin-top:48px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\n<a name=\"backtotop\"><\/a>\n\n<p class=\"al-body\">In large part, the terms of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amerilawyer.com\/agree_order.htm\">written agreement<\/a> are the sole item a court considers in a dispute. In other words, the &#8220;parole evidence rule&#8221; is the common law principle behind this. It bars outside factors from contradicting the terms of a written contract. The main exceptions are fraud, illegality, duress, and in some cases mistake or ambiguity in the agreement.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"al-body\">In practice, that means oral promises cannot override the document. For example, suppose someone made a spoken promise at signing that contradicts the written agreement. In that case, a court generally will not consider it once a dispute arises. Simply put, what is on the page is what governs.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"al-alert-box\">\n  <span class=\"al-alert-label\">A recent change<\/span>\n  <p>However, a recent court decision changed this basic rule. It reversed long-standing precedent on the issue. Specifically, it held that evidence of broken oral promises which contradict the express terms of a written contract is no longer automatically barred by the parole evidence rule.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"al-body\">So the takeaway for business owners is simple. Your written contract still carries the most weight. However, the days of assuming oral side-promises can never come back to matter are ending. Therefore, the safest position is a clear, complete written agreement. Ideally, it says exactly what both sides intend, with nothing important left to a handshake.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"al-intro-box\">\n  <p>Want to make sure your agreements protect you? Call Spiegel &amp; Utrera, P.A. at <a href=\"tel:1-800-603-3900\">(800) 603-3900<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amerilawyer.com\/\">visit our website<\/a> for more information and to make sure your interests are protected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<p style=\"text-align:center;padding:20px 0 30px;\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amerilawyer.com\/agree_order.htm\" class=\"al-btn\">Review My Agreement<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n<p style=\"text-align:center;\"><a href=\"#backtotop\" class=\"al-back-link\">&#8593; Back to Top<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"al-disclaimer\">This article is provided for general information only and is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Contract law and how the parole evidence rule applies vary by state and by the facts of each case. Contact Spiegel &amp; Utrera, P.A. to discuss your situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In large part, the terms of a written agreement are the sole item a court considers in a dispute. In other words, the &#8220;parole evidence rule&#8221; is the common law [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25912,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_amerilawyer_reviewed_by":0,"_amerilawyer_reviewed_on":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6],"tags":[363,9,71,26],"class_list":["post-191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-legal-services","tag-agreements","tag-amerilawyer","tag-contract","tag-legal-services"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.8 (Yoast SEO v27.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Written Contracts: Understanding the Parole Evidence Rule<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Delve into the complexities of written contracts and the exceptions to the parole evidence rule that could affect your agreement.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amerilawyer.com\/blog\/business\/are-written-contracts-enforceable\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Are Written Contracts Enforceable? 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