Also known as: antecedents · prior · previous
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An earlier or preexisting item, claim, or circumstance. It supplies the factual or legal foundation for a later transaction, statement, or obligation.
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Abigail Alvarez sold land to Anchor Bank under a contract containing a merger clause. After closing, the bank discovered an oral assurance about boundary markers that had been made during negotiations. The antecedent assurance was not restated in the deed, so the merger doctrine prevented enforcement of the earlier promise.
Amelia Amari, a descendant of formerly enslaved persons, attempted to register to vote. State officials cited an antecedent literacy test requirement from the early twentieth century. The Fifteenth Amendment barred denial of her right on account of race or prior condition of servitude.
Andre Antoine sued Apex Dynamics for breach of a supply contract. During settlement talks, the company offered a reduced payment. At trial the plaintiff sought to introduce the antecedent offer to prove the claim's validity, but the court excluded it under the compromise rule.
Attorney Audrey Ashton represented Arthur Abrams in a high-profile criminal case. Before the representation ended, she negotiated an antecedent book deal based on information from the matter. The ethics rule prohibited the agreement while the client relationship continued.
Apollo Energy and Alliance Holdings signed a fully integrated supply contract. An antecedent letter of intent had contained different pricing terms. The later writing discharged the inconsistent prior agreement under the parol evidence rule.
Aaron Adams remained in leased commercial space after his term ended. The landlord sought recovery for the holdover period. Because no new election had been made, the landlord recovered at the antecedent rental rate rather than a higher reasonable-value rate.
An antecedent claim qualifies as value when an instrument is issued or transferred as payment of or security for that preexisting claim. The claim need not be due at the time of transfer.
Evidence of an antecedent agreement is admissible to establish whether the writing was intended as a complete integration or to prove fraud, mistake, or a collateral agreement not intended to merge.
A binding integrated agreement discharges only those prior agreements that are inconsistent with it or fall within its scope when the writing is completely integrated.
…that a State may impose virtually no restriction on the performance of abortions during the first trimester of pregnancy. Our previous decisions indicate that a necessary predicate for such an opinion is a plaintiff who was in her first trimester of pregnancy at some time during the pendency of her lawsuit. While a party…