Scholarly Commons @ UNLV Boyd Law Scholarly Works Faculty Scholarship 1999 Contract Construction and Interpretation: From the “Four Corners” to Parol Evidence (and Everything in Between) Keith A. Rowley University of Nevada, Las Vegas -- William S. Boyd School of Law Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/facpub Recommended Citation Rowley, Keith A., "Contract Construction and Interpretation: From the “Four Corners” to Parol Evidence (and Everything in Between)" (1999). Scholarly Works. 554. https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/facpub/554 This Article is brought to you by the Scholarly Commons @ UNLV Boyd Law, an institutional repository administered by the Wiener-Rogers Law Library at the William S. Boyd School of Law. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. CONTRACT CONSTRUCTION AND INTERPRETATION: FROM THE "FOUR CORNERS" TO PAROL EVIDENCE (AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN) Keith A. Rowley* TABLE OF CONTENTS I. The Goal of Construction and Interpretation ........ 79 II. The Process of Construction and Interpretation ..... 82 A. Key Concept: Ambiguity ................... 90 1. "Patent" vs. "Latent" Ambiguity ........... 91 2. Who Decides Whether an Instrument Is Ambiguous? . 94 3. Who Decides What the Ambiguous Terms M ean? . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 96 4. How Does the Issue Arise? . 98 5. The Consequences of Ambiguity .......... 99 B. Key Concept: Integration ................... 100 1. Full vs. Partial Integration .............. 101 a. Mississippi Common Law Presumes That a Written Contract Is Fully Integrated... 103 Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Mississippi College School of Law; B.A., Baylor University; M.P.P., Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Gov- ernment; J.D., University of Texas School of Law; Law Clerk to the Honorable Thomas M.