HOW MANY DAYS IS ‘A COUPLE OF WEEKS’? TENNESSEE COURT REVEALS ANSWER
Wednesday, September 20th, 2017
How long do people intend when they say “a couple of weeks”? It’s a common phrase that is often said in casual conversation. Most people know that “a couple of weeks” is slang for a time period that is more than one week but too short to be measured in months. The exact meaning of “a couple of weeks” was central to the recent Tennessee Court of Appeals case Simpson v. National Fitness Center.
Simpson signed a contract to join NFC, a local gym. The contract contained a provision that allowed Simpson to cancel the membership within ten days. Simpson visited the gym and was dissatisfied with the services offered. She contacted NFC president Lee Sloan to advise that she wanted to cancel her membership. Sloan proposed that Simpson take “a couple of weeks” to further consider her membership, at which point he would work with her on her membership contract.
Simpson visited NFC again and was still dissatisfied. She contacted Sloan to cancel her membership. This conversation was 23 days after her earlier conversation with him. Sloan said it was too late and he would not cancel the membership.
Simpson filed a lawsuit against NFC claiming that she had properly rescinded the contract within the time allowed. NFC defended on the basis that Simpson’s rescission was untimely. The court had to determine the definition of “a couple of weeks.” NFC argued that “a couple” is two and each week has seven days, so “a couple of weeks” means exactly 14 days. Simpson argued that the phrase “a couple of weeks” was meant informally and not as a precise 14 day limitation.
The appellate court ruled in favor of Simpson on the meaning of “a couple of weeks.” The court based its decisions on the meaning of “a couple of weeks” as used in casual conversation. “A couple”, as it is commonly used, has an informal meaning and can convey a few of something, but not necessarily precisely two. Because of the ambiguity created by Sloan’s use of the phrase “a couple of weeks”, Simpson’s rescission was timely.
Did the Court get is right? Ask a couple of your friends. But if you have to give someone a time period to do something, give them an exact number of days, or you could be stuck with whatever time they choose.