Breach of contract
Our litigation and commercial solicitors have significant and wide ranging experience of advising clients on breach of contract issues. Such issues are rarely straightforward and making the wrong move or decision, even in circumstances where you are an innocent party, can have catastrophic legal consequences. It is also the case that rushing headlong into litigation based on a breach of contract may not be the best solution. In short, all option need to be considered carefully, with commercial and cost considerations to the fore.
- Failure to provide services either in full, to agreed standard or on time
- Defective work or goods
- Failure to meet payment obligations
Contract clauses are generally classified into different types depending on the particular clauses importance to the agreement as a whole. For example, some clauses are “fundamental” to the agreement. In other words, such clauses go the essence of the contract. These clauses are often the easiest to classify such as price payable, goods to be delivered and so on. Other types are :-
- Minor
- Intermediate.
Perhaps the most important consequence of contract clauses, and breach of contract issues being looked at in this way is that, in law, typically only a fundamental breach will allow the innocent party to cancel the contract. With other breaches, it is generally necessary to all the party in breach an opportunity to correct, or remedy the breach.
If a breach of contract cannot be or is not remedied the idea of damages under English law is to put the innocent party in the position he/she/they would have been in had the breach not occurred. Whilst with some contracts it is possible to claim damages for loss of enjoyment and/or inconvenience, English law generally is loss rather than compensation based. Often contracts also includes restrictions on liability or attempts to completely exclude liability. The interpretation and effect of such clauses tends to be very different if the contract is between a business and consumer as opposed tp business to business.
Dealing with a breach of contract issue is complex and care should be taken. Good advice can avoid litigation in many cases and/or reduce the risk of making a wrong move. We are happy to discuss any breach of contract claim by way of free initial discussion on a no obligation basis, so please do contact us as we have extensive experience in this area.
