Was your business contract breached?

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When you agree to a contract, you expect the other party to hold up their end of the agreement and abide by the terms. This is a reasonable expectation, but as long as people have created contracts, they have also found ways to breach them, putting both parties in a difficult position.

If you believe that some other party breached a contract you agreed to, you need to assess the damages of that breach and the means you have available to enforce the contract or reach some alternative resolution. Depending on the nature of the dispute, this might be a simple matter, or may prove to be a protracted nightmare.

It is particularly frustrating when a party flouts a contract and breaches it simply because they assume that the other party does not have the means or understanding of contract enforcement to push back. In these instances, a victim of breach of contract can speak with a business attorney to understand the scope of the issue and build a strong strategy for resolving the conflict while keeping the victim’s rights protected.

Resolving a breach of contract

If you must take legal action to resolve your breach of contract dispute, a court may award you a number of remedies, or you may reach a resolution before the matter reaches the court. In general, the remedies to breach of contract include:

• Specific performance
• Monetary damages
• Cancellation or restitution

Specific performance involves a court ordering the breaching party of a contract to fulfill the terms of the contract as intended. This may include performing work, delivering products or otherwise fulfilling the contract as both parties agreed upon.

Monetary damages may vary from instance to instance, and may involve payments to make up the actual costs of the breach as well as punitive damages that go well beyond those costs. In some cases, a contact itself stipulates how parties should resolve a breach and what damages are reasonable.

A breach may also allow the harmed party to cancel a contract altogether, or seek damages that return the harmed party to the state it was in prior to the breach.

Don’t wait to stand up for justice

Regardless of how you choose to resolve your breach of contract dispute, it is important to begin building your claim as soon as you can, to avoid further complications. Be sure to address these issues quickly to ensure accurate, useful remedies and keep your rights and priorities secure.