COR - Breach of Contract (Lesson)

Introduction

A contract is intended to formalize an agreement between two or more parties. To make a contract legally binding it must include the necessary elements – offer, acceptance, agreement, consideration, capacity, and legality. Even though all of the elements may be evident, sometimes one of the parties may fail to perform a promise that forms all or part of the contract. This failure to perform is called a breach of contract. There are several remedies for a breach of contract. There are also defenses against a breach of contract claim. In this microlesson we will take a brief look at a breach of contract, remedies for a breach of contract, and defenses to breach of contract.

Breach of Contract

Parties to contractual agreements must be prepared to understand their rights in the event of breach of contract. When a contract is breached, the injured party has choices for remedy. At the same time, parties accused of a breach of contract also have defenses to breach of contract.

Review the following video presentation for each of these elements relating to breach of contract.

Let's Review!

Take a moment to participate in the following activity to practice your understanding of the topics in this module.  Reach out to your instructor if you have any questions.

Final Thoughts

In this lesson, you learned about breach of contract, available remedies for a breach of contract, and defenses to breach of contract. When a party files a suit claiming a breach, it must first be determined whether a contract existed between the parties. The complaining party must prove that the elements of a contract existed. If proven, there are remedies for the complaining party, such as damages. For a defending party to challenge the existence of the contract, the party must provide evidence undermining one or more of the elements, for example, the contract lacked consideration.

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