Where a contract contains both a general option to repurchase and specific provisions dealing with the consequences of cessation of employment (including retirement and disability), the specific provisions prevail over the general option to the extent of inconsistency. An essential term such as the duration of a lease option need not be expressly stated if it can be inferred from the contractual scheme, and different durations may be inferred for different triggering circumstances within the same clause. The contra proferentem rule remains a rule of last resort that does not apply where ambiguity can be resolved by ordinary principles of construction.
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