N.C.P.I.—Civil 501.70

The (state number) issue reads:

"Did the defendant, after [attaining the age of eighteen] [becoming

emancipated by [judicial decree] [marriage] [membership in the armed

forces of the United States] [state other statutory basis for capacity to

contract]1] ratify2 the contract entered into with the plaintiff?"

(You will answer this issue only if you have answered the (state

number)3 issue "Yes" in favor of the defendant.)

On this issue the burden of proof is on the plaintiff. This means

that the plaintiff must prove, by the greater weight of the evidence, two

things:

First, that the defendant has [attained the age of eighteen] [been

emancipated by [judicial decree] [marriage] [membership in the armed

forces of the United States] [state other statutory basis for capacity to

contract]].

(All of the evidence tends to show that on (state date) the

defendant

[attained eighteen years of age]

[was emancipated by a judicial decree]

[was emancipated by marriage]

[was emancipated by becoming a member of the armed forces of

the United States]

[was emancipated by (state other fact-specific event constituting a

statutory basis for contractual capacity)].)

And Second, that the defendant thereafter ratified his contract with

the plaintiff in [the following way] [one or more of the following ways]:

[Express Ratification. (First), the defendant expressly

promised the plaintiff that he would go forward with the contract.4 The

promise may be made orally or in writing,5 but it must be more than a

mere acknowledgment that a contract was entered into.6 To be sufficient

as an express promise, it must be unconditional, voluntary and made with

the defendant's full knowledge that he was not legally obligated to

perform the original obligation.7]

[Implied Ratification. ([First] [Second]), the defendant

engaged in conduct which leaves no doubt that he decided to go forward

with the contract.8 If the conduct is equivocal or uncertain in meaning, it

is not sufficient to constitute a ratification of the contract.9]

[Failure to Disavow Within a Reasonable Time. ([Second]

[Third]), the defendant failed to disavow the contract within a reasonable

time after [attaining the age of eighteen] [becoming emancipated].10 A

person who becomes [eighteen] [emancipated] has a reasonable time to

disavow the contract he made as a minor. To disavow the contract, the

defendant must have communicated by words or by conduct that he no

longer wanted the [benefits] [burdens] of the contract.11 Neither inaction

nor silence is sufficient as a disavowal. [Where the subject matter of the

contract is real estate, the disavowal must occur within three years after

the defendant [attains the age of eighteen] [becomes emancipated].12]

[Where the subject matter of the contract is [personal property]

[services], what constitutes a reasonable time depends on the facts and

circumstances of each case.13 You may consider

[the type of the [property] [services] contracted for]

[the rate of depreciation of the property]14

[the perishability of the property]

[the amount of benefit conferred upon the defendant after

[attaining the age of eighteen] [becoming emancipated]

[the defendant's retention of the benefit(s) of the contract

after [attaining the age of eighteen] [becoming emancipated]15

[the opportunities available to the defendant to disavow the

contract after [attaining the age of eighteen] [becoming

emancipated]

[conduct by the defendant after [attaining the age of

eighteen] [becoming emancipated] that is consistent with

performing the contract]16

[state other factors as are supported by the evidence].]

Finally, as to the (state number) issue on which the plaintiff has

the burden of proof, if you find by the greater weight of the evidence that

the defendant, after [attaining the age of eighteen] [becoming

emancipated by [judicial decree] [marriage] [membership in the armed

forces of the United States] [state other statutory basis for capacity to

contract]], ratified the contract entered into with the plaintiff, then it

would be your duty to answer this issue "Yes" in favor of the plaintiff.

If, on the other hand, you fail to so find, then it would be your duty

to answer this issue "No" in favor of the defendant.