A settlement agreement involving an unpaid student loan provided that the student must "remit[] not less than $600.00 monthly with each payment arriving at [the appropriate lending agency], not less more [sic] than 30 days apart . . . ." During later litigation, the parties argued as to whether the agreement meant the student had to make the payments more than or less than thirty days apart.
What factors would a court look at in determining how to interpret the above wording? Is a court required to interpret a contract's words literally, even if that would result in an "absurdity" or would "'render[] the contract ineffective to accomplish its purpose?'"