Text Messages and Business

It is not a surprise that in our modern and technologically savvy world, text messages are often used in various types of business communications. However, can text messages be binding when disputes arise?

In a recent Ontario case, 1475182 Ontario Inc. o/o Edges Contracting v. Ghotbi, the court confirmed that a text message can constitute a signature in a contract. In this case, a dispute arose between a dentist and a construction company. The dentist failed to pay the construction company the remainder of their invoice and the construction company sued based on a text message, which was interpreted as acknowledging the debt of the dentist from the construction contract. The court emphasized that we live in a modern digital world and thus the court must consider non-traditional means of affixing one’s signature to a document, including digital signatures.