Businesses depend on strong contracts to protect their relationships with their employees, vendors, and other important entities. A contract, at its core, is the agreement parties make when they offer to exchange goods or services for just consideration. Depending on the type of work that they do, Philadelphia businesses could hold contracts on matters ranging from loans to supplies to commercial real estate.
While different contracts will contain different terms based on the goals of the parties who agree to them, all contracts can be wrongfully broken and inflict harm on the victim-parties. When a contract is broken it is considered breached, and breached contracts can have different remedies to compensate the harmed parties. This post discusses breaches of contract in the context of business law, and no part of this post should be read as legal guidance.
Ways that contracts can be breached
A breached contract can become a costly and stressful problem for a business. There are many ways that contracts can be breached, such as:
- Failure to deliver goods or service on time or in a timely manner
- Failure to provide payment based on contractual terms
- Failure to provide parties with sufficient information to perform contractual duties
The details of an individual contract will influence when and how the parties may be considered to have breached the agreement. A business law attorney can help a concerned party review their contract for possible infractions and breached terms.
Remedies for contractual breaches
Just as contractual terms will influence how and what may constitute breaches, they will also generally stipulate what remedies aggrieved parties will have if they suffer losses due to breaches. Remedies that parties may have to breached contracts can include:
- Specific performance: the breaching party is compelled to perform as specified by their contract
- Damages: the harmed party may be entitled to compensation for the losses it incurred due to the breach of the other party
- Cancelation: the contract between the parties is terminated and the harmed party is released from their duties
Before seeking litigation on a breached contract, business owners can talk to knowledgeable business law attorneys about their legal needs. Attorneys who work in this field can provide their clients with case-specific support to help them make good decisions about their legal rights.