Resolutions for breach of contract are varied. If the breach is serious enough, the contract may be repudiated, which means that the situation will be viewed as if the contract had never been entered into. There are also situations where a contract can be terminated.
Even if a term of the contract has been breached, the clause breached may not be serious enough to warrant repudiation or termination. Clauses in contracts are often described as either a “Condition”, or a “Warranty”. Put simply, conditions are terms that are central to a contract. A breach of a condition may allow an innocent party to terminate a contract. Warranties are less crucial than a condition, and a contract may not be terminated if a warranty is breached.
The most common remedy in a contractual dispute is usually a payment of damages. Damages will usually be limited to a sum that puts the injured party back in the situation that s/he would have been in, had the breach not occurred. Damages for injury to feelings or stress are rarely awarded.
Contract disputes can be difficult to unravel, especially when a party has paid money for something that has not materialised. Whether you are defending or pursuing a claim for breach of contract, or wanting advice about specific clauses in a contact, our team of solicitors are there to assist and advise you.
