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What happens when a contract is breached?

| Sep 28, 2017 | Commercial Disputes |

To understand the course of events that may unfold when a contract or agreement is breached, readers of this blog should have a solid understanding of how a contract is formed. For a contract to be created, at least two parties must agree to the contract’s terms. One of the parties must offer to perform a service or provide a good and, in exchange, the other party must accept the offer and provide consideration for the offeror’s goods or services.

Contracts are often written down, but some contracts can be verbal and, therefore, more difficult to decipher if the parties allege a commercial dispute on the agreement’s terms. A breach of contract occurs when one of the parties to the agreement fails in some way to perform as expected by the terms of the contract.

A party responsible for performing a service or delivering a good may completely breach and not do what they were obligated to do. Or, a party in this relative position of the contract may make the delivery or undertake the service, but at the wrong time or with the wrong methods than what were stipulated in the agreement. An accepting party can fail to pay as promised or may reject the agreed upon goods or services, which, in turn, may also lead to a contractual breach.

When a contract is breached, the harmed party may have a variety of remedies available to them under the operating agreement. For example, the harmed party may cancel the contract without penalty. They may also demand the specific performance of the contract based on the agreement’s terms. An aggrieved party may also seek damages for the harm they have suffered so that they may be returned to the position they were in prior to entering into the agreement.

A breach of contract can present serious legal issues for a New York business. When contracts are breached, individuals and organizations can suffer significant losses and harm. In order to understand their rights under breached contracts, readers may wish to discuss their concerns with business law attorneys.

Source: FindLaw, “Contracts Basics,” accessed September 26, 2017