A missing comma cost a Maine dairy company $5 million.
In 2017, Oakhurst Dairy settled a lawsuit with its truck drivers for $5 million — after the drivers had sought roughly $10 million. The entire case turned on a single comma — or rather, the absence of one — in Maine’s overtime law.
The law exempted from overtime: “The canning, processing, preserving, freezing, drying, marketing, storing, packing for shipment or distribution of: (1) Agricultural produce; (2) Meat and fish products; and (3) Perishable foods.”
The drivers argued that “packing for shipment or distribution” was ONE activity — packing for shipment, or packing for distribution. Without a comma after “shipment,” the words blurred together. The company argued they were TWO separate exempt activities.
The court sided with the drivers. One comma. Five million dollars.
This is what Legal English really is. Not fancy vocabulary. Precision under pressure — where a single punctuation mark decides who owes what to whom.
At Legal-Ease International, we train lawyers and legal professionals to write like the stakes are real. Because they are.
What is the smallest word that has caused the biggest fight in your practice? Drop it in the comments.
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