A: If a closing date on a purchase agreement is not met, generally the party who has breached the agreement may not be allowed to close the transaction. Often there are penalties contained in a purchase agreement to reimburse the non-breaching party for their time, expense and fees caused by the breach of a party to fail to close on a closing date. However, if the parties are both working toward closing the sale, but certain impediments get in the way of a timely closing (such as a survey which is not completed, or a lender not having approved a loan in a timely fashion), the buyer and seller will often reach an agreement to continue the closing date to a later date. In some cases, a seller might require a buyer to pay a further amount on the deposit to insure that the buyer intends to proceed, particularly if the buyer is to forfeiet the deposit as a result of its failure to close the transaction.

A: Mediation is a voluntary process that the parties may agree to pursue in the event there is a dispute in an agreement. The parties basically agree that prior to filing suit, or entering into some other kind of process for resolution, they will mediate the dispute. It is a fairly informal process where each party presents its evidence and arguments in a dispute to the mediator, who attempts to work out an agreement between the parties. If it does not result in an agreement, the parties may then go ahead and choose to go to court to reach a resolution of their dispute.

A: It is common in a residential leases which is furnished that the tenant is responsible for any damage to furnishings. You might want to check if this clause is in the agreement, or whether there is a provision that states that included in the cost of the tenancy is insurance to reimburse the landlord (but payable by the tenant) for any losses to such personal property. If damages are the responsibility of the tenant, you might wish to discuss with the landlord whether you could replace any claim for damages with an insurance policy that would cover such losses.

A: Confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements are common in the purchase and sale of businesses. They are meant to allow a buyer and seller to negotiate and reach terms on an agreement without information leaking which would impact the business, such as financial information, impact on employees, future plans and trade secrets. It is common practice for these agreements to be signed. If the agreement is breached, the party who has been injured by the breach can sue the other party for damages or other appropriate remedies.