E-Mail as a legally binding document

[xyrt]

Hello,

Last year i was bought an extravegant gift by my then partner. Recently he has tried to get me to pay for it. He claims he has e-mails stating that i intended to pay for the gift. I have asked for transcripts of the e-mails but they are not forthcoming.

As far as I know the only way an e-mail can be legally binding is if it is issued with a digital signature to authenticate the person who is sending the e-mail. Is this correct?

[andy hughes]

You would need legal advice on this, but in the absence of any 'proof' from your apparently small-minded partner - I'd call his bluff and say you'll see him in court, and see what happens. In the light of what has happened, or rather not happened, the answer is likely to be - not much.

[Miss Zippy]

Your ex has to prove that a contract existed between you in the terms you state.  A contract is equally binding whether the terms are stated verbally, scruffily written on the back on an envelope, in an e-mail or in a formal executed document. What your ex would need to prove, however, is that there was an intention to create legal relations and he would probably fail on this point if he was petty and silly enough to pursue it through formal legal channels. The courts are loathe to get involved in social and domestic agreements; there are exceptions but I don't think your situation falls into any of those categories. He's bluffing you so just ignore him.

[joko]

if, as I assume you haven't sent these emails you have got nothing to worry about. If he tries to fake something, emails are traceable and with the use of a laptop in court you could prove to the judge that the emails never cam from your account.

call his bluff, and tell him you will debunk any 'evidence' he comes up with

[Buenchico]

It sounds as if your ex-partner is bluffing.

Everything said here already is fine (particularly the bit about any agreement constituting a contract, irrespective of the form it takes).

Just a note, however, about the statements regarding the need for your ex-partner to 'prove' the contract:
Remember that any court case would be in a civil court, not a criminal one. The job a civil court is to come to a decision based upon 'the balance of probabilities'. If your ex-partner can convince a court (with or without e-mails) that it is more likely that you agreed to make payment than that you did not, the court's ruling will go against you.

Chris