From: "Deranged Mutant" <WlkngOwl@unix.asb.com>
Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 17:45:29 +0800
To: Ben Holiday <ncognito@gate.net>
Subject: Re: Electronic Signature Act Of 1996
Message-ID: <199606042344.TAA29411@unix.asb.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


On  4 Jun 96 at 10:33, Ben Holiday wrote:

> Florida now recognizes electronic signatures as legal and binding. In
> other words - its okay to sign it by modem.
> 
> The electronic Signature Act of 1996 passed the Legislature unanimously
> and became law Friday. The law does not specify how an electronic document
> must be signed, but it probably will mean coding the text and typed
> signature so they cannot be changed by anyone other than the writer. 
[..]

I've seen some legal arguments that an email message that reads 
"Bob, Sounds good--it's a deal. --Alice" can in some circumstances be 
as binding as an oral contract or a scribbled note, which is not 
meaningless though not as strong as a legal signed contract. As long 
as one can show Alice *did* write that, that it referred to a 
specific deal, etc. etc., it holds some legal weight.

But I'm no lawyer, and one should never trust legal advice form 
Usenet or the c'punks list.

Rob.
 
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