The use of electronic signatures is on the rise, but an ag lawyer doesn’t recommend using text messages to verify purchases.
A recent court case in Canada found that an emoji could be used as a digital signature to purchase ag goods, but Steve Mossman with Mattson-Ricketts says that may not hold up in a US court. “On the other hand, I do believe you can form a binding contract that would not violate what’s called the Statute of Frauds Act through text messages.”
For example: “I do think if somebody offers to buy your corn crop by text message and has enough detail in there, and you text back ‘agreed’ particularly with your name in there, I do think that’s enough.”
But, Mossman tells Brownfield, that could create misunderstanding and the potential for fraud between producers and agribusinesses.
