{"data":{"id":"us-ga/o.c.g.a.-13-2-2","jurisdiction":"us-ga","citation":"O.C.G.A. § 13-2-2","heading":"Rules for interpretation of contracts generally.","body":"The following rules, among others, shall be used in arriving at the true interpretation of contracts:\n(1) Parol evidence is inadmissible to add to, take from, or vary a written contract. All the attendant and surrounding circumstances may be proved and, if there is an ambiguity, latent or patent, it may be explained; so, if only a part of a contract is reduced to writing (such as a note given in pursuance of a contract) and it is manifest that the writing was not intended to speak the whole contract, then parol evidence is admissible;\n(2) Words generally bear their usual and common signification; but technical words, words of art, or words used in a particular trade or business will be construed, generally, to be used in reference to this peculiar meaning. The local usage or understanding of a word may be proved in order to arrive at the meaning intended by the parties;\n(3) The custom of any business or trade shall be binding only when it is of such universal practice as to justify the conclusion that it became, by implication, a part of the contract, except in regard to those transactions covered by Title 11;\n(4) The construction which will uphold a contract in whole and in every part is to be preferred, and the whole contract should be looked to in arriving at the construction of any part;\n(5) If the construction is doubtful, that which goes most strongly against the party executing the instrument or undertaking the obligation is generally to be preferred;\n(6) The rules of grammatical construction usually govern, but to effectuate the intention they may be disregarded; sentences and words may be transposed, and conjunctions substituted for each other. In extreme cases of ambiguity, where the instrument as it stands is without meaning, words may be supplied;\n(7) When a contract is partly printed and partly written, the latter part is entitled to most consideration;\n(8) Estates and grants by implication are not favored; and\n(9) Time is not generally of the essence of a contract; but, by express stipulation or reasonable construction, it may become so.","path":["TITLE 13 Contracts","CHAPTER 2 Construction"],"source_url":"https://archive.org/download/gov.ga.ocga.2018/release86.2022.11/gov.ga.ocga.title.13.odt","current_through":"Release 86 (2022-11)","vintage":"Public.Resource.Org bulk O.C.G.A., Release 86 (2022-11), retrieved 2026-09-17","retrieved_at":"2026-09-17T19:34:57Z","sha256":"cb63c425f6c054b4f8ddd66c9634ace30a5f908967ce87d539a4ea8eb62e511e","source_id":"us-ga","stale":false,"prev":"us-ga/o.c.g.a.-13-2-1","next":"us-ga/o.c.g.a.-13-2-3"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}