If you have ever entered into an agreement with someone regarding property, business endeavors or financial obligations among other things, you have probably signed a contract. Your contract plays a critical role in protecting you, as well as the other party who you are under contract with. With detailed clauses that define both you and your partner’s obligations, duties and anticipated benefits, you can have peace of mind that your best interest is protected in a way that is bound by legal terms in the state of California.
In cases where you suspect your contract has been breached by the other party, you may be wondering how to identify whether or not a failure has occurred. According to The University of New Mexico Judicial Education Center, courts determine if a contract has been breached by one or both parties, by assessing several key factors. Some of the questions you can expect the courts to address in these types of cases include the following:
- Were there any modifications made by yourself or the other party that changed the meaning of the original content?
- Does the contract failure fall under a material or minor breach?
- Did you ever enter into a contract that existed under legal definition?
- What were the individual obligations of both you and the other contracted party?
- Were you and/or the other party negatively compromised by the breach?
- Does the breaching party have a sound legal defense to back up their actions?
The courts will also look at whether or not the breach that you or the other party are claiming to have occurred, did actually happen. The information in this article is intended for educational purposes only and should not be taken as legal advice.