A contract contains a provision that states it will be effective for a "year." The plaintiff in a lawsuit claims that a "year" is obviously 12 months.The defendant claims that the contract meant a 10-month school year.Parol evidence:
A) cannot be used to explain the term,because the plain meaning of a "year" is 12 months.
B) cannot be used to explain the term,because it is an integrated document.
C) can be used to clarify the parties' intent because in this contract the term "year" is ambiguous.
D) cannot be used,because the contract contains an express term that could have been changed by the parties prior to the contract's execution.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

In this case, the term "year" is ambiguous because it could mean either 12 months or the duration of a 10-month school year. Therefore, parol evidence can be used to clarify the parties' intent in using the term "year" in the contract. The fact that the contract is integrated and contains an express term that could have been changed by the parties prior to execution does not necessarily bar the use of parol evidence to clarify an ambiguous term.

A Contract Contains a Provision That States It Will Be