ARTICLE · 17 JUNE 2021

Is A Signature Necessary? A New Second Circuit Decision

Pavia & Harcourt

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Businesses negotiating new deals should be reminded by a recent Second Circuit decision to be careful to avoid entering into a contract before they know it.

United StatesLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration

Ihsan Dogramaci

Businesses negotiating new deals should be reminded by a recent Second Circuit decision to be careful to avoid entering into a contract before they know it. The case, Attestor Value Master Fund v. Republic of Argentina,¹ concerns a very public dispute. It is Argentina against holders of bonds on which Argentina prominently defaulted in 2001. The case involves basic principles of contract law, with a dissenting opinion invoking a famous 1892 English case. And there is drama: According to the dissenting judge, the majority's opinion in favor of Argentina "suggests a massive fraud intended by the Republic, and on, or perhaps even by, the district court."²

Background: The law of preliminary agreements

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