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Store Research

Punctuation Matters!

March 14, 2011

Some bill research does not include the Governor's file because at the time we researched the bill, the sitting Governor had not released his chaptered bill file. If the Governor's file is not included with this particular research, please contact our office (1-530-666-1917 or quote@legintent.com) and we will be happy to provide this file at no charge if it is available. Please Note: Governor files did not exist prior to 1943.

          For many clients’ research projects we have had to discern whether certain phrases were independent clause or dependent clauses, and whether conditions were cumulative or alternative.  In one case almost 30 years ago, we had a client who was a major national auto insurer who required us to research legislative history in Richmond, Virginia.  The case involved whether or not the insurer was liable on a coverage case. Our researcher discovered that a critical colon had been inadvertently dropped by the printer in the chaptered version of the Virginia bill. The evidence of the missing colon completely resolved the question in favor of the client.  While the legislative bill itself was less than one page, it (and its missing colon) had a profound impact on our client’s case.