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http://www.lawhandbook.org.au/07_01_01_what_is_a_contract/
A contract is a legally binding or valid agreement between two parties. The law will consider a contract to
be valid if the agreement contains all of the following elements:
An agreement that lacks one or more of the elements listed above is not a valid contract.
Not all contracts need to be in writing. Contracts that are required by law to be in writing include
contracts to buy and sell land or to buy a motor car and door-to-door sales contracts. However, it is
always useful to have the terms agreed between the parties written down and attached to or kept with any
other relevant papers; for example, copies of quotations, brochures, pamphlets, etc. that were supplied at
the time the contract was entered into. Receipts for money paid should always be kept. If a dispute arises,
these documents will assist in resolving differences between the parties.
A written contract can be drawn up by listing all the terms agreed between the parties and getting each of
the parties to sign and date the document at the end.
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https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/breach-of-contract.html
A breach of contract means one party to the contract fails to fulfill her contractual obligations. A breach
can occur if a party fails to perform within the time frame specified in the contract, does not perform in
accordance with the terms of the agreement, or fails to perform whatsoever. If one party fails to perform
while the other party fulfills her duties under the contract, the performing party is entitled to legal
remedies for breach of contract.
Types of Breaches
There are four different types of breaches of contract:
Most breaches of contracts is one of two types: actual or anticipatory. Actual breaches occur when a party
fails to fulfill her obligations on the date performance is due, or when a party performs her obligations
and the other party refuses to perform.
Anticipatory breach occurs when a party refuses to perform her obligations under the contract before the
due date of performance. For example, if a party agrees to sell her car to a buyer in five days, but then
reneges on day three, she is anticipatorily breaching the contract.
A contract breach can either be minor or material. A minor breach, also known as a partial breach, is a
failure to complete a minor, non-essential part of a contract. Although it is technically a breach, the
contract can still be completed.
A material breach, on the other hand, is a substantial breach in contract terms usually excusing the non-
breaching party from performing and giving her the right to sue for damages. For example, in a home
purchase contract, a seller refusing to give the buyer the keys to the home after the buyer has completed
all contract terms is a material breach.
Compensatory Damages: The most common legal remedy, compensatory damages are a monetary
award to compensate the aggrieved party. A court can order the person who breached the contract to pay
the aggrieved party enough money to get what they were promised by the terms of the contract.
Restitution: A court orders restitution if they order the breaching party to pay back the other person the
amount the aggrieved party paid initially to make the aggrieved party whole again.
Punitive Damages: If the breach of contract is especially heinous, a court may order punitive damages,
meant to punish the breaching party for breaking the terms of the contract.
Specific Performance: A court can force the breaching party to perform the service or deliver the goods
that were promised in a contract.
Why Should I Consult with an Attorney?
Contract law can be complicated, and every state has different lawsuit filing procedures and deadlines for
breach of contract claims. Speaking with a knowledgeable contract attorney can help determine what
remedies are available to you. The above remedies can be attained by working with a knowledgeable
contract attorney.
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https://www.rocketlawyer.com/article/breach-of-contract-what-happens-now.rl
At the same time, it's important to note that not all breaches are created equal. In most cases, if you want
to move forward with a breach of contract suit, it needs to meet the criteria set by the following four
breaches:
A material breach-failure to perform one's duties as set in the contract-is considered one of the
most serious, and allows the injured business or individual to seek damages in court. The broke
contractor mentioned above might be able to collect in court because his client failed to perform
his end of the deal. The contractor was supposed to collect his pay when he finished the job. He
did his part, but the client didn't follow through with his end of the deal.
Fundamental breaches also often end up in court, as this kind of violation allows the aggrieved
individual to stop performance of the contract and sue for damages. For example, if you signed a
lease for a new apartment, but showed up on moving day only to find someone else living there,
your landlord is in fundamental breach of the lease contract. You could sue for damages and to
make him rent the apartment to you under the original agreement.
An anticipatory breach allows one person to say the contract is broken when it becomes evident
the other party will not execute his or her end of the contract within the allotted time. Let's say
your neighbor hires you to paint her house, for example, and she'd liked the job completed by
October 1. If you haven't started by September 30, she could try to collect monetary damage
because there's no way you could get the job done in time.
A minor breach is a partial breach. For instance, let's say you hire a friend to build a website for
your business. He gets the site done in time, but there are a few errors. While you can't sue for
actual performance (he finished the job after all), you might have the option to sue for monetary
damages or force him to make corrections.
Regardless of the type of contract breach, you need to establish a few facts to build a credible case should
you take the breach to court, and this can get tricky-especially if the contract was verbal or implied. In
most breach of contract cases, you must verify that:
Compensatory damages pay money to reimburse costs and compensate for losses.
Consequential and incidental damages are generally awarded if everyone involved was aware of
potential losses in case of a breach when the contract was signed or accepted.
Liquidated damages are agreed damages specified in the contract.
Punitive damages, or money given as retribution, are for offensive behavior or actions from the
defendant (rare in breach of contract cases).
Attorney's fees are recoverable as damages in contract cases when expressly included in the contract
or authorized by statute.
Sometimes there's more than money involved in breaches of contract. These cases also have common
remedies, which include:
Specific performance, a court order for each person or business to follow through with the initial
agreement
Rescission, which is when the contract is canceled, any money returned, and the matter dropped as if
it never happened
Reformation, achieved when the contract is re-written to better suit the actual intention of the
contract-essentially a 'do-over'
The options for remedies are often included in the contract itself. Before considering legal action in a
breach of contract case, it might be wise to carefully review the initial contractual agreement and look for
any limitations or requirements to avoid unintentionally waiving contract remedies.
Breach of contract disputes are likely among the most common legal suits in today's courts because they
can potentially impact any aspect of any small business. No matter whether you're dealing with contract
fraud, nonpayment claims or even failure to comply with a non-disclosure agreement, it doesn't have to be
an uphill battle. Knowing your rights, options and legal remedies can make dealing with breaches of
contracts a little less painful. And remember: it's hard to get what you deserve if you don't create a
quality business contract in the first place.
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https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/breach-of-contract-penalties.html
However, there are times when the expectancy cannot be determined adequately, such as lost profits for a
business that never started. In that scenario a court will likely award the breached party the amount of
money they spent to start the business.
There is also a remedy known as unjust enrichment which occurs when one party benefits unjustly from
someone else. An example would be paying someone $1,000 to build a house and then they never build
the house. In that scenario the builder received $1,000 unjustly and could be required to return the $1,000
they received.
Therefore, even if the other party behaves horribly there is generally no penalty or punitive damages in
contracts. It may be possible to get punitive damages if the contract was based on fraud, but this is
unusual and rarely imposed by the courts.