Breach Of Contract Claims And Remedies
In business, contracts are formed on a regular basis with vendors, clients and employees. When someone fails to live up to his or her contractual obligations, the breach can have a disastrous effect on the business. A contract dispute can be a costly and disruptive to daily business operations.
What Is A Contract?
By definition, a contact is an agreement between two or more parties that meets certain criteria. For an agreement to be a contract, one party must make an offer, the other party must accept the offer and there must be consideration – something of value given in exchange for a promise. Contracts don’t have to be in writing to be valid, but a verbal contract is extremely difficult to enforce in court. Businesses are advised to put all agreements, big and small, in writing.
What Is A Breach And What Are The Legal Remedies?
A contract is breached when one party fails to meet the terms of the contractual agreement. For example, if a business hires a caterer for its annual sales conference, both parties sign a contact defining the terms of the agreement and the caterer fails to appear at the event, he is in breach of contract, When a contract is breached, the non-breaching party may ask the court to award them damages – generally monetary compensation. However, damages can include:
- Compensatory damages to provide a party with the monetary amount necessary to replace what was lost due to the other party’s breach.
- Liquidated damages are specific damages delineated in a contract in the event that the contract is breached.
In some situations, monetary damages are not appropriate. In these cases, the non-breaching party may request specific performance instead. When a party asks for specific performance, they are asking the court to order the breaching party to perform the duties they had promised to do in the contract.
Contact A Breach Of Contract Attorney
If your business is involved in a contract dispute, contact an experienced commercial litigation attorney. The right attorney will explore all of the remedies available to you and help you obtain compensation for the money lost due to the other party’s breach.