I'm in the process of purchasing a house and reading through the contract, I can't find a single instance of the comma. (As if legalese wasn't hard enough to read already!)
This includes the segregation of sentence clauses, separating lists, following certain leading adverbs (however, therefore, etc.), etc.
Are commas considered superfluous in legal documents? Perhaps just property documents?
Answer
Commas are regarded as dangerous in legal documents - they introduce ambiguity in the meaning.
"The agreement shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five year terms , unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party.” https://secure.globeadvisor.com/servlet/ArticleNews/story/RTGAM/20060806/wr-rogers07
The court decided that the second comma meant the 5year period was an optional clause. The customer was able to change the term after one year and it cost Rogers telecom a couple of million $$$
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