IEA Section 92 — Exclusion of evidence of oral agreement

Summary

Once a written contract, property transfer, or other required document has been proven in court according to the previous section, no oral agreement or statement can be used between the parties to change, add to, or take away from what the document says. However, there are several exceptions: you can prove facts that would make the document invalid, such as fraud, mistake, or lack of legal capacity. You can also prove a separate oral agreement about a topic the document does not cover, as long as it does not contradict the document. Additionally, you can prove an oral agreement that was a condition that had to happen before any obligation under the document began, or a later oral agreement to cancel or change the document (unless the law requires the document to be in writing or registered). You may also prove a custom or usage that adds details not written in the contract, as long as it does not go against the contract’s terms. Finally, you can prove facts that explain how the words in the document relate to real-world facts.

Official Text

When the terms of any such contract, grant or other disposition of property, or any matter required by law to be reduced to the form of a document have been proved according to the last section, no evidence of any oral agreement or statement shall be admitted, as between the parties to any such instrument or their representatives in interest, for the purpose of contradicting, varying, adding to, or subtracting from, its terms;
Proviso (1): Any fact may be proved which would invalidate any document, or which would entitle any person to any decree or order relating thereto; such as fraud, intimidation, illegality, want of due execution, want of capacity in any contracting party want or failure of consideration, or mistake in fact or law:
Proviso (2): The existence of any separate oral agreement as to any matter on which a document is silent, and which is not inconsistent with its terms, may be proved. In considering whether or not this proviso applies, the Court shall have regard to the degree of formality of the document:
Proviso (3): The existence of any separate oral agreement, constituting a condition precedent to the attaching of any obligation under any such contract, grant or disposition of property, may be proved.
Proviso (4): The existence of any distinct subsequent oral agreement to rescind or modify any such contract, grant or disposition of property, may be proved, except in cases in which such contract, grant or disposition of property is by law required to be in writing, or has been registered according to the law in force for the time being as to the registration of documents.
Proviso (5): Any usage or custom by which incidents not expressly mentioned in any contract are usually annexed to contracts of that description, may be proved;


Provided that the annexing of such incident would not be repugnant to, or inconsistent with the express terms of the contract:
Proviso (6): Any fact may be proved which shows in what manner the language of a document is related to existing facts.

Old <-> New Code Mapping

• BSA §95 — Exclusion of evidence of oral agreement