The purpose of this is to guide investors and key stakeholders in this critical sector in order to avoid the pitfalls plaguing transactions conducted for the acquisition and development of land.
There cannot be an implied agreement or contract where a party fails or refuses or neglects to comply with a term of a written agreement. An implied contract is usually treated in law as a contract only for the purpose of giving a remedy to a party whose action or conduct has benefited another in circumstances where without the remedy the benefiting party will be unfairly enriched by the action or service rendered by the other party.
Unconscionable Contracts: Unconscionable contracts are contracts that are considered unjust by being unfairly weighted to give advantage to one side over the other. Examples of elements that may make a contract unconscionable include: a limit on the damages a party may receive for breach of contract, a limit on the rights of a party to seek satisfaction in court, an inability to have a warranty honored, etc.
Option Contracts: This contract allows a party to enter another contract with another party at a later time. Entering into a second contract is called exercising the option, and a good example of this is in real estate, where a prospective buyer will pay a seller to take a property off the market, then, at a later date, have a new contract made to buy the property outright, should they choose to do so.
Non-Disclosure Agreement: A legally binding agreement to treat specific shared information as confidential, proprietary or trade secret and not to disclose it to others without proper authorization. It is Mason policy to require Principal Investigators to sign these agreements acknowledging their responsibilities to safeguard such confidential information during the course of preliminary discussions or any research projects.