电子邮件免责声明进化史

    对于法律文书这类老古董，免责声明的使用还算是慎重而真诚。但在电子邮件上，它们如洪水般泛滥，完全不顾及邮件内容。斯皮格和一些人认为这样的做法无疑违背了这类声明的本意。而且免责声明更多的时候出现在邮件末尾，让“不要阅读”这类警告毫无意义。Reid & Hellyer律师事务所的斯科特•托科夫建议律师们应当把免责声明放在邮件开头。）

    斯皮格认为免责声明放在邮件开头还是末尾无关紧要。他笼而统之地说：“需要收件人同意的免责声明最脆弱。最有力的那种免责声明是旨在通知收件人，以免其产生误解，或者声称产生了误解，以至于造成法律后果。”比如曾有过这样的判例，电子邮件后附的免责声明称，除非签署了书面合同，否则邮件中达成的任何协议都不具备法律效力，法院在判案时就采纳了免责声明中的内容。

    但是，靠免责声明来通知收件人也并非万无一失。托科夫以2011年的罗梅罗诉罗梅罗案为例。这起案件发生在加州，涉及一个长期不和的家庭，其中一名家庭成员发送了一封电子邮件，称“恶有恶报”，并声称收件人“仍然欠了我很多很多债，我必将以牙还牙，以眼还眼。”邮件署名为“你无比坚定、势不可挡、发自肺腑的敌人”。邮件后面附加了自己撰写的免责声明：

    “免责声明：本邮件中所有内容都不应被理解为包含暴力或威胁意图；相反，整封邮件应按照其字面意思理解。本邮件全部内容都未包含、也不会包含任何关于暴力威胁或意图的明示或暗示。”

    不过，这份免责声明没有令法官信服，法官还是向邮件收件人签发了保护令。

    电子邮件免责声明最新、最时尚的形式则是——“本邮件是通过iPhone发送，请原谅其中的打字错误”，或是其它类似的说法——这倒是确实管用。斯坦福大学（Stanford）的一项研究显示，附上类似的免责声明能大大提高存在打字错误的电子邮件在收件人心目中的可信度。（财富中文网）

    译者：项航  

    But in those less modern forms, disclaimers were used selectively and genuinely. With email, they are often attached regardless of content, a fact that Spiegel and others say can undermine whatever standing they may have. Disclaimers also tend to be appended to the bottom of emails, making the "do not read" clause preposterous. (Scott Talkov, a lawyer with Reid & Hellyer, advises attorneys to append the disclaimer at the top of an email.)

    Spiegel doubts placement of the disclaimer matters but says in general: "They're weakest when you need the other side's agreement. Where they're strongest is when they put the recipient on notice so they don't have a misunderstanding or strategically seek to claim a misunderstanding which could have legal consequences." For example, courts have enforced disclaimers that assert any deal agreed upon in email is not binding without a written contract.

    But, even when they're only giving notice, disclaimers are not foolproof. Talkov pointed me toRomero v. Romero, a case from 2011 involving feuding family members in California, one of whom sent an email declaring "payback is a bitch" and that email recipients "still have a gigantic debt to pay to me, which will be paid no matter what." The e-mailer signed off "Your most determined, unstoppable, and visceral enemy," and then appended a homemade disclaimer reading:

    "DISCLAIMER: Not one word herein should be construed by anyone as meaning violent or threatening intentions, and instead the entire contents is to be taken by the strict literary meaning. There have not been, and will be any elucidated threats of violence or intent, either expressed or implied, within the entirety of this document."

    A judge did not find it compelling and issued a protective order.

    As for the latest, most fashionable form of email disclaimer -- "Sent from my iPhone, please excuse the typos" and its many other derivations -- it works! According to a study from Stanford, messages that include errors are perceived to be far more credible when a mobile device disclaimer is attached.