N.C.P.I.—Civil 501.75

The (state number) issue reads:

"Did [a] [an] [guardian] [personal representative] [agent] [name

other representative] of the defendant ratify the contract entered into

between the plaintiff and the defendant?"

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

number)1 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, three

things:

First, that (name guardian, etc.) was a [guardian] [personal

representative] [agent] [name other representative] of the defendant

with authority to act on the defendant's behalf.

Second, that (name guardian, etc.) knew or, under the

circumstances, had reason to know all the material facts and

circumstances involved with the contract. A person knows something

when he has actual knowledge of it. A person has reason to know

something when, under the same or similar circumstances, a reasonable

person would have known it or would have been put on notice of its

existence.

And Third, that (name guardian, etc.), on behalf of the defendant,

ratified the contract entered into with the plaintiff. A person ratifies a

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

[Express Ratification. (First), by expressly promising on behalf of

the defendant to go forward with the contract.2 The promise may be

made orally or in writing,3 but it must be more than a mere

acknowledgment that a contract was entered into.4 To be sufficient as an

express promise, it must be unconditional, voluntary and made with full

knowledge that the defendant was not legally obligated to perform the

original obligation.5]

[Implied Ratification. ([First] [Second]), by engaging in conduct

which leaves no doubt that the [guardian] [personal representative]

[agent] [name other representative] decided on behalf of the defendant

to go forward with the contract.6 If the conduct is equivocal or uncertain

in meaning, it is not sufficient to constitute a ratification of the contract.7

]

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

by failing to disavow the contract within a reasonable time after the

defendant [attained the age of eighteen] [became emancipated by

[judicial decree] [marriage] [membership in the armed forces of the

United States] [state other statutory basis for capacity to contract]8].9 A

[guardian] [personal representative] [agent] [name other representative]

has a reasonable time to disavow the contract made by the minor on

whose behalf he is acting. To disavow a contract, the [guardian] [personal

representative] [agent] [name other representative] must communicate

by words or by conduct that the defendant no longer wants the [benefits]

[burdens] of the contract.10 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].11] [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.12

You may consider

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

[the rate of depreciation of the property]13

[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]14

[the opportunities available to the [defendant] [guardian] [personal

representative] [agent] [name other representative] to disavow the

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

[conduct by the defendant after [attaining the age of eighteen]

[becoming emancipated] consistent with performing the contract]15

[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

[a] [an] [guardian] [personal representative] [agent] [name other

representative] of the defendant 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.