Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New York

Contract for Non-English Speaking Party

My attorney drew up a contract in English. English is my language, but the other party to this agreement, although a resident of the US for 15 years, only speaks Hungarian. This Hungarian-speaking party is represented by an attorney but I don't know if that attorney is Hungarian-speaking or not. Does the contract have to be in both languages and what are the risks, if any, if I don't have the contract translated into Hungarian?


Asked on 8/18/07, 8:10 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Anthony Colleluori The Law Offices of Anthony J. Colleluori & Associates PLLC

Re: Contract for Non-English Speaking Party

It can be in english only, the risk however, is that the other party (call him "B") will renage on the contract and claim he didn't know what he was signing. You may win but court costs become a problem.

Get a court approved Hungarian interpreter and have him at the signing. Have your lawyer certify that B understands the terms and agrees to them. If the Contract is worth the money, transcribe the events with a court reporter. These costs will be less than you would incur if you had to sue him, not even including the legal fees.

Good Luck.

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Answered on 8/18/07, 10:39 pm


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