Legal Question in Business Law in Tennessee

No blanket reply makes sense.

I can't answer you 'yes' or 'no.' First, binding upon whom?Are you hoping to wiggle out because they changed their copy of the contract without getting your initials? Are you tryingto wiggle out of just the changed dates and go back to the originaldates on the paper (enforce it exactly as originally signed) or are you trying to just walk away from the wholecontract by using this, shall we say, technicality?

I assume the edits were made in good faith -- they thought you were agreed or that someone had merely mistyped the school's schedule onthe contract form. Was it otherwise?

Altered documents, in my opinion, are not automatically worthless piecesof paper. While there may be some debate about the terms that were altered,the paper is still evidence that all other terms were agreed upon, and themodern (this century!) trend in contract law is to enforce all contracts evenif certain terms have to be filled in by the judge himself.

When you have answers to all my questions, you might want to call a local attorney for advice.

Altered Contracts

Contracts signed and dated by the parties are normally binding. However, alterations made to the contract after it has been signed by the parties, which are not initialed by all parties to the contract, are not binding. But you must prove that the alterations were made by comparing a copy of the contract that you have with a copy of the contract that has been altered.

Whited-out contract

It's impossible to properly answer your question based upon the facts that you provided. However, if the other party to the contract did the whiting-out without your knowledge or consent, you may not be held to that part of the contract by a court of law. But it depends on how the contract is written; you might avoid ONLY THAT PART of the contract and be held to the rest of it. You may have to have a lawyer read the whole contract. At the very least, you are going to have to provide more information - what basically did the contract originally contain; what specifically was whited out; did you do the whiting out or did someone else?

You've got to be much more specific to get a reasonable answer, especially from a lawyer who can't see the contract!

Unilateral changes to contract

Changes cannot be made unilaterally to contract. Any changes madewithout your consent or approval are not part of the contract. However,you do have a contract based upon the terms that were agreed.