USA Statutes : oregon
Title : TITLE 03 REMEDIES AND SPECIAL ACTIONS AND PROCEEDINGS
Chapter : Chapter 42 Execution, Formalities and Interpretation of Writings
A written notice is to be construed
according to the ordinary acceptation of its terms. Thus, a notice to the
drawers or indorsers of a bill of exchange or promissory note, that it
has been protested for want of acceptance or payment, shall be held to
import that it has been duly presented for acceptance or payment and
refused, and that the holder looks for payment to the person to whom the
notice is given.Except for the recital of a consideration, the truth of the
facts recited from the recital in a written instrument shall not be
denied by the parties thereto, their representatives or successors in
interest by a subsequent title. [1981 c.892 §83] All writings, other than public writings,
are private and may be sealed or unsealed. The execution of a writing is the
subscribing and delivering it, with or without affixing a seal. A subscribing witness is one who sees a
writing executed, or hears it acknowledged, and at the request of the
party thereupon signs one’s name as a witness. Any attested
writing other than a will may be proved in the same manner as though it
had not been attested. A seal is a particular sign made to attest in
the most formal manner the execution of an instrument. The presence or
absence of a seal, corporate or otherwise, shall have no effect upon the
validity, enforceability or character of any written instrument except
where specifically otherwise provided by statute. A writing under seal
may be modified or discharged by writing not under seal or by a valid
oral agreement. [1965 c.502 §2]
(1) For
the purposes of ORS 40.510 (1)(a) and (d), each state officer and state
agency may have a seal which, unless specifically provided otherwise by
law, shall consist of an impression, imprint or likeness of the state
seal accompanied by the name of the state officer or state agency.

(2) As used in this section:

(a) “Seal” has the meaning given that term in ORS 42.110.

(b) “State agency” means every state officer, board, commission,
department, institution, branch or agency of the state government, except:

(A) The Legislative Assembly and the courts and their officers and
committees; and

(B) The Public Defense Services Commission.

(c) “State officer” includes any appointed state official who is
authorized by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services to have a
seal and any elected state official, except members of the Legislative
Assembly. [1982 s.s.1 c.14 §1; 2003 c.449 §23; 2005 c.22 §32] The language of a writing
is to be interpreted according to the meaning it bears in the place of
execution, unless the parties have reference to a different place. In construing an instrument,
the circumstances under which it was made, including the situation of the
subject and of the parties, may be shown so that the judge is placed in
the position of those whose language the judge is interpreting. In the
construction of an instrument, the office of the judge is simply to
ascertain and declare what is, in terms or in substance, contained
therein, not to insert what has been omitted, or to omit what has been
inserted; and where there are several provisions or particulars, such
construction is, if possible, to be adopted as will give effect to all.In the construction of an instrument the intention of the
parties is to be pursued if possible; and when a general and particular
provision are inconsistent, the latter is paramount to the former. So a
particular intent shall control a general one that is inconsistent with
it.The terms of a writing are presumed to have been used in
their primary and general acceptation, but evidence is admissible that
they have a technical, local, or otherwise peculiar signification and
were used and understood in the particular instance, in which case the
agreement shall be construed accordingly. When the terms of an agreement have been
intended in a different sense by the parties, that sense is to prevail,
against either party, in which the party supposed the other understood
it. When different constructions of a provision are otherwise equally
proper, that construction is to be taken which is most favorable to the
party in whose favor the provision was made. When an instrument
consists partly of written words and partly of a printed form, and the
two are inconsistent, the former controls. When the
characters in which an instrument is written are difficult to be
deciphered, or the language is not understood by the court, evidence of
persons skilled in deciphering the characters, or who understand the
language, is admissible to declare the characters or the meaning of the
language.