Dear Comma

When a misplaced or missing comma, or inserting an extra comma, in a contract can cost a company lots of money, as the meaning of a sentence inadvertently favors the employees instead of the employer.

By accidentally inserting a comma between “fruit” and “plants” in the draft containing “fruit plants, tropical and semi-tropical, are exempt from import tariffs,” all imported fruit suddenly become duty-free; as a result, the government loses tens of millions of dollars for that “dear comma.”

251👍 394👎