Grammatical gender of a party

[Tomasz Klimkiewicz]

Hello,

Could you please help me get rid of my doubts regarding the following common example of a statement found in many Contract Agreement texts:

"...the Contractor shall not be liable for any delay in execution of the works for reasons not directly attributable to him/them/it..."

I think I've seen them all, but which pronoun is, in your opinion, the most appropriate in that context?

TIA - Tomasz

 

[Barb_D]

You can't use "it" -- The contractor is a person.
You could use "him" if the contractor is a male.
Legal contracts is one of the few situations where using a the plural form "they/their/them" for a singular might create confusion. Or at least give someone an excuse to sue someone.

Just repeat "the Contractor."

 

[Tomasz Klimkiewicz]

OK, I may not have made myself perfectly clear; in my example THE CONTRACTOR is not an individual but a corporate entity (a Joint-Stock Company), hence the option 'it'. ;-)

 

[Barb_D]

Ah. Well, in the US, we tend to use the singular for corporate entities, so "it" would be my choice, but it's still behind repeating "the Contractor."

 

[Amigos4]

OK, I may not have made myself perfectly clear; in my example THE CONTRACTOR is not an individual but a corporate entity (a Joint-Stock Company), hence the option 'it'. ;-)

Hi, Tomasz!

How about: "InfoTech shall not be liable for any delay in execution of the works for reasons not directly attributable to the contractor/company."

"The contractor shall not be liable for loss or damage caused because the client provided it with incorrect or incomplete information."

 

[Tomasz Klimkiewicz]

Thank you

Yes, repetition should be the best choice here, not particularly elegant perhaps, but certainly unambiguous. ;-)

Amigos - I'd avoid using the company name at the beginning of the sentence since in the preamble the parties, beside their company names, are identified as '...hereinafter referred to as The Client...', you know, the usual wording... ;-)

 

[Amigos4]

Thank you

Yes, repetition should be the best choice here, not particularly elegant perhaps, but certainly unambiguous. ;-)

Amigos - I'd avoid using the company name at the beginning of the sentence since in the preamble the parties, beside their company names, are identified as '...hereinafter referred to as The Client...', you know, the usual wording... ;-)

Tomasz, I like 'elegant' but lawyers prefer 'unambiguous'!!! Repetition is the best fit for a legal document! ;-)

Cheers, my friend!

 

[Tomasz Klimkiewicz]

All the best, amigos4!... :-D