Also known as: canon of construction · canons of statutory construction · canons of contractual construction · rules of construction · interpretive canons
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A set of interpretive rules and maxims that courts apply to resolve ambiguities in legal instruments. The rules favor constructions that effectuate the parties' or drafter's manifested intent and give effect to all words where possible.
Catherine Carter conveyed land in State W to Cedar Creek Farms by a deed prepared in State V that expressly stated all questions of construction would be governed by State V rules. The metes-and-bounds description contained ambiguous directional calls that might or might not create an access easement. The court applied State V's permissive rules of construction to the description rather than State W's stricter approach.
Corinne Cho's will devised her ranch to her nephew Charles Cunningham and to the children of her sister Christine Castro. Charles was one generation closer to Corinne than the class members. The court applied the rule that treated the gift as one to the issue of the common ancestor, giving Charles a life interest and the class members the remainder.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Cameron Cruz conveyed property in State W by a deed executed in State V that contained no choice-of-law clause for construction. An ambiguous reservation clause raised the question whether rail spurs were retained. The court applied the construction rules of the situs, State W, to interpret the reservation.
Central Dynamics obtained a patent on a genetically engineered bacterium. The examiner rejected the application on the ground that living organisms were outside the statutory term manufacture. The court gave the term its ordinary dictionary meaning and held that the bacterium fell within the statute.
Cascade Manufacturing contracted with Crystal Dynamics to supply paving materials meeting a certain grade specification. For years Crystal had accepted slightly off-spec shipments at full price. The court interpreted the grade term in light of the parties' course of performance and local trade usage rather than the strict technical definition.
A federal statute imposed a punishment of fifteen years in irons plus perpetual surveillance for falsifying a public record. The defendant argued the sentence was cruel. The court applied canons that favor constructions avoiding harsh or absurd results and invalidated the punishment as disproportionate.
Courts apply canons only after determining that the language of the instrument is ambiguous. The primary goal remains ascertaining the manifested intent of the parties or testator from the text and surrounding circumstances.
When one party drafted the instrument and an ambiguity remains after all other interpretive aids are exhausted, the court construes the ambiguous term against the drafter.
Courts first attempt to harmonize the written term with the parties' actual performance and established trade usage. Canons such as contra proferentem serve only as a last-resort tie-breaker when those contextual sources do not resolve the ambiguity.
Yes. Different canons may point in opposite directions, and courts then select the canon or constructional preference that best advances the parties' manifested intent or the effectiveness of the instrument.
…the legislature has not expressed." United States v. Dubilier Condenser Corp. , 289 U. S. 178, 199 (1933). Guided by these canons of construction, this Court has read the term "manufacture" in § 101 in accordance with its dictionary definition to mean "the production of articles for use from raw or prepared materials by giving to…