Saskatchewan farmer wants Supreme Court to hear emoji signature case [Video]

A court case involving a farmer and a thumbs up emoji could be heading to Canada’s highest court.

After two unsuccessful challenges in Saskatchewan courtrooms, agriculture company Achter Land & Cattle Ltd. is headed to the Supreme Court.

In December, the court of appeal upheld a 2023 Court of King’s Bench verdict that found a thumbs-up emoji met signature requirements and was a legally binding agreement between farmer Chris Achter and Kent Mickleborough, a grain buyer with Southwest Terminal (SWT).

In March 2021, Mickleborough sent a text of the contract to Achter for a delivery of 87 tonnes of flax. The farmer responded with a thumbs-up emoji but no accompanying text.

Achter didn’t deliver the product, and the company took him to court for breaching the contract. The farmer was ordered to pay more than $82,000 plus interest and court costs to SWT.

“That was just one of several short …