Hold harmless agreement

[Darren]

GENERAL RELEASE

This instrument is entered by and between _________ hereinafter called "BUYERS" and __________________ located in ____________, hereinafter called "_________" in consideration of the following facts:

On ________________________ conducted an inspection of that certain real property commonly known as __________________ (hereinafter called the property), in connection with the sale of the property. Said inspection was identified by ____________ as inspection #____________________.

Buyer has moved into the property and has decided they are not satisfied with the inspection & report and are requesting a full refund as per _________________ policy.

In order to provide a refund and adhere to _______________ policy, the parties have agreed as hereinafter set forth.

NOW, THEREFORE, the parties hereto agree as follows:

To forsake litigation and arbitration ______________ agrees to refund the sum of _________________________ [the cost of the general home inspection].

In consideration of the payments required under the above paragraph and heretofore made by ______________, BUYERS for themselves, their heirs, executors, representatives, successors and assigns, and for all persons acting by, through or under them, do hereby release, acquit and forever discharge _____________ and it's subsidiaries and affiliates, both past and present, as well as each and all of it's past and present agents, employees. officers, directors, stockholders, servants, attorneys, successors and assigns, and each of them of and from any and all claims, debts, liabilities demands, obligations, costs and expenses, actions and causes of actions, of every kind, nature and description, known or unknown, which buyers now own or hold, or have at any time heretofore owned or held, or may at any time own or hold, by reason of any matter, cause or thing whatsoever occurred, done, omitted or suffered to be done or omitted, prior to the date of this instrument, including, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, arising out of or in any way connected with _____________ inspection of the property, or any errors of omissions in ________________ inspection report, or any deficiencies in the physical condition of the property.

The above release shall be effective upon execution of this instrument, and shall include, as indicated hereinabove, all released claims, causes of action, costs and demands which BUYERS may have against ________________ hereto.

1

Each and every party hereto agrees that this settlement agreement was arrived at after fair and full negotiations between parties; that no party hereto has executed this agreement under economic or physical duress; that no party hereto has taken unfair advantage, economic or otherwise, of any other party hereto; and that this agreement is not to be more harshly construed against one party hereto and in favor of any other party hereto.

This instrument is made and entered into the State of ____________, and shall be interpreted and enforced under and pursuant to the laws of said jurisdiction.

The parties hereto acknowledge receipt of a copy of this instrument, that they have carefully read and fully understand all of the provisions of this instrument, and that they have voluntarily executed same.

Dated

BUYER Date:________________

________________

By Date:________________

Title: President

Dated:

This release is invalid unless signed & returned within 10 day from date above.

[hausdok]

Is there a requirement in law for the word hereto? Why not just re-word the thing to say the same thing but in plain language that even a 6th grader could understand?

OT - OF!!!

M.

[rjw]

Originally posted by Chris Bernhardt

Rob, can you explain this further? Who might be assignees and other parties who derive an interest from the client?

In general terms, the release should bind the client, and any and all assignees or other parties who derive any interest from the client. It should also apply to the inspector and anyone or anything that derives an interest from the inspector

Believe it or not, over the centuries lawyers have found that people try ways to get around things, especially limitations on legal obligations.

One way that has been tried in all sorts of variations is transferring rights through assignment of interests, through "subrogation" through sales, etc, of affected property.

Hypothetical: I have legal obligation owed to John Doe and/or his Company, DoeBoy, Inc. That obligation arose through my negligence in connection with some real property.

The exact amount of the claim is uncertain (and maybe even the status of the claim as valid), but the damages could range around $80-120

I agree to pay him $50 and he agrees to accept it and John Doe signs a release saying that he won't try to collect anything more.

DoeBoy Inc [probably] won't be bound by that release.

If he/they sell the property to Jane Smith, she might succeed to some of the rights DoeBoy Inc held, and maybe that John Doe held.

Maybe John Doe &/or DoeBoy also got an insurance settlement covering the damage.

When the insurance CO paid out, it was subrogated to John Doe's [and/or DoeBoy Inc's] rights against me.

--- "Subrogation - where one party (here the ins co) 'stands in the shoes' of another (here John Doe)----

In fact, if they paid out before I got my release, my release might be wholly ineffective against them.

This is all really complex stuff.

But over the years, lawyers have developed "boilerplate" which has been tested in courts and is known to be effective.

The appropriate boilerplate will vary from state to state because over the years, similar words (assignee) have come to had slight (or big) variations in how they are defined.