• A party to a contract is often held to its objective meaning, which it is considered to have had reason to know, even if the party subjectively understood or intended something else. [Cases: Contracts 147(1). C.J.S. Contracts § 308; Parent and Child § 178.]
objective meaning
The meaning that would be attributed to an unambiguous document (or portion of a document) by a disinterested reasonable person who is familiar with the surrounding circumstances.