In Israel, a couple was brought to court by a potential landlord. The landlord assumed the couple would be renting his property after receiving a very optimistic text. The text in question included several very incriminating emoji. It read:
“Good morning 😊 interested in the house 💃🏼 👯 ✌ 🎐 🐿 🍾 just need to discuss the details … When's a good time for you?”
The landlord, believing the couple had every intention of renting the house based on the lighthearted and positive nature of the message (not to mention its emojis!), then removed its posting online. Later he learned that the couple wasn't quite ready to rent after all. So he decided to take the matter to court.
The judge's ruling on the case was as follows: “The [emoji laden] text message sent by Defendant 2 on June 5, 2016, was accompanied by quite a few symbols, as mentioned. These included a ‘smiley’, a bottle of champagne, dancing figures and more. These icons convey great optimism. Although this message did not constitute a binding contract between the parties, this message naturally led to the Plaintiff’s great reliance on the defendants’ desire to rent his apartment.”
Hilarious, and also a good warning. Although this is America, and the judicial interpretation of the emoji might play out differently, make sure to exercise discernment when texting emojis of any kind to a potential landlord.
Read more here.