A breach of contract can seem inevitable when you are in the business world. Whether it is an important business deal that will cost your company tens of thousands or the contractor you had working on your office is not completing the task in the time specified, you will likely have some type of breach of contract during your time as a business owner. The first step is usually to get in contact with the other party who is not holding up their end and try to work it out. Is there a reason that they did not complete what they said they would? Is there a reasonable chance they will be able to fix it? If you can come to a resolution with the other party, filing a suit for a breach of contract would be unnecessary extra time and money.
What types of contract breaches are common?
There are many ways that a client, vendor, or contractor might breach a contract you entered into. It could come in the form of delivering a damaged product, failing to deliver a product on time or at all, delivering items that are not the items you agreed on, violating a non-compete clause, or failing to pay you for your services. If the other party did not fully perform their end of the contract but they could remedy the situation, then the contract is still likely intact. This is known as a minor contract breach. Other more serious contract breaches are:
- An anticipatory breach. This happens when the other party states or implies that they do not intend to fulfill their end of the contract in the future. While a breach has not occurred, it is possible to sue them.
- A material breach. This is common and happens when one party in a contract simply fails to fulfill their obligations. This might happen if you paid a company to bring your office food for a catered event and the catering company you paid never showed up with the food.
- An actual breach. The at-fault party does not fully perform their duties as was laid out in the contract.
For a legal consultation with a personal injury lawyer, call 434-817-3100
How does a court determine if a breach of contract occurred?
For you to successfully win your case, a lawyer, like a Miami, FL business lawyer from a law firm like Perez Mayoral, P.A. knows that there are several things a court will look at. It is important to establish whether the breach was material or minor and how hard it was (or would be) for your company to come back from that breach. A court will look for things like:
- The breaching party willfully and fully intended to breach the contract
- The breaching party endured a hardship that made it difficult for them to perform their duties as outlined in the contract
- There is still an opportunity for the breaching party to rectify the situation or perform their duties
- Whether the breaching party performed some, but not all, of their duties
When you are ready to speak with a lawyer about a breach of contract that affected your business, reach out to a local law office now.
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