What does this sentence mean?
I hereby release
In this context, "release" means that you give up your right to sue.
directors, officers, agents and employees,
Directors: Members of the Board of Directors
Officers: president, vice-president, secretar-treasurer, etc.
Agents: people who act for ou and who can bind you to a contract by their actions.
Employees: just what they sound like; no special technical meaning.
of any causes of action,
claims, debts, contracts and agreements
This is what we call a "freight train" in that it is a string of words of phrases that essentially say the same thing in a variety of ways.
Cause of action: something that gives rise to a right to sue, for example, wrongful dismissal.
Claim: in this context, a legal claim of some kind.
Debts: just what it sounds like, money that is owed to you.
Contracts and agreements: a contract is an agreement. This is freight train redundancy at its worst.
which I or my heirs may have
Some causes of action die with the claimant. Others live on and the estate can pursue the claim.
for any cause up to this date,
It is customary in a release to include this kind of "kitchen sink" phrase to include every possible claim someone may have, whether or not related to the current case. Hence the phrase "for any cause [of action] up to this date." That means that if you discover next week that these people were responsible for an assault on you last year, you're out of luck. This release covers that as well.
including any and all
claims relating to or arising out of my
employment and / or termination of employment.
This is just bad drafting. They've already said ANY cause of action. Why say that ANY includes anything particular? Of course it does! Further, as soon as you start to "include" anything, you run the risk of the court looking at your "included" material and saying that you didn't really mean "any cause" but you meant any cause arising out of a breach of the contract of employment. Certainly, when the releasor signed this, s/he was not contemplating that they were signing a released regarding that assault last year or a traffic accident or a class action suit over environment damages or any of the other myriad unrelated claims; Once you start to seem to be limiting you "any," the courts are going to be all to willing to join you in further limiting them.
How do "the any causes of action", or "claims", or "debts" relate to him or his heirs?
does he or his heirs owes to others or others owe to him?
Someone else may owe to him and he is giving up that debt.
Why does he repeat the "claims"? does the former "claims" have the same meaning with the latter?
As I said, repeating "claims" here is bad drafting, however, the first is a general "claims" and the second is an example.
In summary, this sentence says:
I let so-and-so off the hook for EVERYthing they may have done to me before today, Whether or not it is related to the subject of the lawsuit that led to this release being prepared.
Timothy Perrin, BA, LL.B., MFA
Barrister & Solicitor
Author: Better Writing for Lawyers