What Does A Breach Of Contract Mean?
A contract is a legally binding obligation into which two or more parties enter. For the vast majority of businesses, a contract is a crucial component designed to protect them from fraudulent or deceptive practices on the part of a client or business partner.
When the terms of a contract are broken, this is referred to as a "breach of contract."
There are different types of breaches, and they vary in their severity and potential consequences. Three common breaches of a contract include:
A material breach of contract is when one of the parties to the contract fails to fulfill their end of the bargain. For example, a client refuses to pay a contractor after the contractor completes a project per the contract they both signed.
A partial breach of contract occurs when one of the parties to the agreement fails to fulfill some of the terms defined therein. Taking the above example a step further, if the contractor completed a renovation project for his client within the specified time frame, but failed to replace certain household fixtures with items defined explicitly within the contract, then the contractor could be considered in partial breach of contract.
An anticipatory breach of contract can be difficult to prove in court since the plaintiff must demonstrate that the other party had or has no intent to fulfill the terms of the contract. For instance, if a client hires a roofing company to perform extensive repairs by the end of April, and yet the roofing contractor has not even contacted the client by March 30th, then the client could sue the contractor for an anticipatory breach of contract.
A breach of contract can be a severe issue for any business. If you need help in navigating through a breach of contract situation, reach out to the legal experts at the Berglund Group to set up an initial consultation.
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