I'm guessing what they mean with long distance dependencies is section 3 of the contract sets one scenario and section 46 an exception to it.
This happens (normally, intentionally) when there is a section up front or at the end that sets defined terms. It also happens in a way we lawyers agree kind of sucks but whatever who cares - when after a long negotiation we're adjusting one small point and don't want to go through the effort and consternation of rewriting the whole thing.
Legal negotiation culture states that the longer/more involved your edits, the more presumptively unreasonable they are. So there is low incentive to rewrite something to make it "read better."
No need to guess, they give an example of the kind of thing they mean:
> “In the event that any payment or benefit by the Company (all such payments and benefits, including the payments and benefits under Section 3(a) hereof, being hereinafter referred to as the ‘Total Payments’), would be subject to excise tax, then the cash severance payments shall be reduced.”
"center-embedding" is the term they use to describe this, note the long interruption of the primary sentence due to the embedding. A suggested alternative which removes the embedding making the primary sentence easier to understand:
> “In the event that any payment or benefit by the Company would be subject to excise tax, then the cash severance payments shall be reduced. All payments and benefits by the Company shall hereinafter be referred to as the ‘Total Payments.’ This includes the payments and benefits under Section 3(a) hereof.”
This happens (normally, intentionally) when there is a section up front or at the end that sets defined terms. It also happens in a way we lawyers agree kind of sucks but whatever who cares - when after a long negotiation we're adjusting one small point and don't want to go through the effort and consternation of rewriting the whole thing.
Legal negotiation culture states that the longer/more involved your edits, the more presumptively unreasonable they are. So there is low incentive to rewrite something to make it "read better."