united-states contract-law civil-law new-jersey
Can a Party Introduce a New Contract as Evidence that Conflicts with Previous Submission?
<p>Suppose Party A &amp; Party B have a disagreement about the terms a contract and Party A presents a contract written in 2010 as evidence against the other party.</p>
<p>Party B presents a different contract written in 2013 which is worded slightly differently and supports his case.</p>
<p>Party A then finds a 3rd contract written in 2016 which matches the one written in 2010.</p>
<p>Is the new contract admissible as evidence court? Suppose the contracts were written over a period of 5-10 years so it is within reason the Party A may have legitimately forgot about the 3rd contract.</p>
<p>Would the court accept the 3rd contract from Party A as evidence? Or would it be rejected on the basis that it conflicts with the first contract presented to the court?</p>
<p>Would it matter whether Party A introduced the original contract during discovery or in court?</p>

<p>Everything offered by a party comes into evidence if it is duly authenticated.</p>
<p>A contract not disclosed prior to a pre-trial deadline for doing so, however, might be excluded from evidence for non-disclosure, unless it was offered for impeachment or rebuttal purposes.</p>

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<p>Would the court accept the 3rd contract from Party A as evidence? Or would it be rejected on the basis that it conflicts with the first contract presented to the court?</p>
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<p><em>If</em> the contract from year 2016 is rejected as evidence, it would be for belatedness and/or other reasons rather than for not being the one initially filed in court.</p>
<p>In a contract dispute, the most important issue is the timing of alleged breach. That information generally determines which of the contracts governed the parties' relation at that time.</p>
<p>The years you mention suggest that the <em>statute of limitations</em> for breaches prior to year 2016 has expired, though. Generally speaking, the statute of limitations for contract claims is six years. See <a href="https://www.leagle.com/decision/innjco20221215338" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Hagans v. Nickerson</em>, Superior Court of NJ (Oct. 2022)</a>, (citing NJSA A:14-1(a)).</p>
<p>For claims arising in year 2016 or later, the contract from 2016 supersedes the [presumably replaced] one from 2013. This precludes the use of the contract from 2013 for deciding the matter at issue. But, as the other answer points out, the governing contract must be filed timely.</p>
