An expensive comma

Who said commas weren't important! In this case, a comma that shouldn't have been there cost Rogers Telecommunications $2.1 million. Don't read on unless you are interested in the finer points of punctuation.

Here's the statement in question:

The agreement shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five year terms, unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party.

Rogers intended the agreement to be locked in for five years, after which could be ended on one year's notice. However, commas are interruptors, and the two commas set aside the middle part of the sentence so that the main statement reads:

The agreement shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party.

The lawyers should have omitted the second comma so that the statement read:

The agreement shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five year terms unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party."

With only one comma, the crucial "unless and until terminated" clause is separated from the first part of the sentence by the comma and clearly applies only to the successive five year terms.

What a difference a comma makes!

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