Part 1: Breach Flashcards
How can a contract be discharged by breach?
A party who fails to perform will be in breach of contract.
The innocent party may treat breach as discharging contract, together with their own unperformed primary performance obligations.
The nature of the actual or threatened breach will effect when the innocent party can treat contract as discharged.
Breach of condition - entitled to treat contract as ended and / or claim damages.
Breach of warranty - entitled to damages only.
Total refusal to perform - entitled to repudiation of contract (discharged)
If party refuses / cannot comply with term - the contract can only be discharged by breach if it is an important term or condition.
What is repudiatory breach of contract?
For contract / obligations to be discharged by breach - the innocent party must be confronted by “repudiatory breach”
This is when a party totally refuses to perform or a breach of a primary contract term which court held as a serious breach of innominate term.
What is an anticipatory breach of contract?
It is when one party is confronted with words or actions by the other party which makes it clear that the other party will not perform contract at all or will commit a repudiatory breach.
CASE: Held that an innocent party may immediately decide to treat contact at an end, terminations own obligations and allows to claim damages - based on other party’s anticipatory renunciation of performance.
What are the remedies of breach of contract?
Depends on status of the clause that has not been performed:
- Condition - entitled to repudiate and / or claim dmamagrd to compensate any loss suffered
- Warranty - entitled to damages
