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Breach of Contract in the Business World

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Breach of Contract in the Business World
| Breach of Contract in the Business World | | | | | |

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Table of Contents Executive Summary iii I. Introduction 1 II. Breach of Contract 1 III. Immaterial Breach of Contract 1 IV. Material Breach of Contract 2 V. Remedies 3 VI. Remedies at Law 3 VII. Remedies in Equity 5 VIII. Summary 6 IX. Bibliography 8

Executive Summary
This paper discusses the legal concept of a breach of contract and the options a business has in pursuing a breach of contract case. It defines what constitutes a breach of contract, how a party may breach a contract, and it compares the legal distinction between an immaterial and material breach of contract.
This paper concludes with a description of what remedies are available to the non-breaching party when a contract has been breached. It describes the types of remedies at law (monetary damages) and remedies in equity that may be awarded in a breach of contract case. Introduction
Contracts form the very foundation of every legal business endeavor. They can dictate how a business is formed, the terms and conditions of employment, or a sales agreement between a business and its customer. In a perfect world, both parties would benefit from a contract and no disputes would arise. In the real business world, delays occur, financial problems happen, and unexpected events may prevent a contract from being fulfilled. It is imperative that a business understands what constitutes a breach of contract, how a party may breach a contract, and what legal remedies are available to recover any damages that may be incurred.
Breach of Contract
A breach of contract occurs when one party fails to perform any term of a contract, written or oral, without a legitimate legal excuse (Hill, Breach of Contract). A businesses’ course of legal action against a breach of contract will depend on what type of breach has occurred, whether the breach is material (substantial) or immaterial (minor), and



Bibliography: American Home Ins. Co. v Travelers Indemnity Co, 122 (Cal. App 3d 951,961 1981). Gale, T. (2010). West 's Encyclopedia of American Law. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from Answers.com:http://www.answers.com/library/Law%20Encyclopedia-cid-6927283 Gifis, S. H. (2010). Law Dictionary. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from Answers.com: http://www.answers.com/topic/breach-of-contract Hill, A. (1974). Breach of Contract as a Tort. Columbia Law Review (74), 40. Hill, G. a. (n.d.). Breach of Contract. Retrieved January 6, 2010, from Law.com Dictionary: http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=93 Hill, G. a. (2010). Nominal Damages. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from The Free Dictionary by Farlax: http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Nominal+Damages Jacob & Young v Kent, 230 (N.Y. 1921). Jentz, G., & Miller, R. (2007). Fundamentals of Business Law: Summarized Cases (Seventh ed.). Mason: South-Western Cengage Learning. Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 241. (1981) Sullivan, T Wild, S. (Ed.). (2006). Webster 's New World Law Dictionary. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from Yourdictionary.com: http://www.yourdictionary.com/law/specific-performance Williston, S. (1922). The Law of Contract. New York: New York Baker, Voorhis & Co.

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