In an ideal world, your business operations would go smoothly without any bickering over prices and supplies. In the real world, though, disputes arise all the time. That means you’re bound to be on the receiving end of breach of contract allegations at one time or another.
Yet, the commonality with which issues of breach arise shouldn’t leave you thinking that it’s a minor issue that can be easily and quickly swept aside. On the contrary, a breach of contract case can have tremendous implications for your business’s reputation, operations, and bottom line.
When you’re hit with allegations of breach, then, there’s a lot on the line. And you can’t sit back and expect that the matter will sort itself out. Instead, you have to develop strong defense arguments that seek to counter the plaintiff’s assertions and protect your business interests. Let’s look at some effective ways you can build your breach of contract legal strategy.
Depending on the facts of your case, you might have several defense options available to you. These include each of the following:
- Fraudulent misrepresentation: Some businesses will go to any length to secure a contract on terms that are favorable to them. To do so, they might intentionally misrepresent or lie about a fact that’s material to the proposed contractual arrangement. When they do, and you rely on those assertions in making your decision to enter into the contract, then you can defend your breach based on the fraudulent misrepresentation that has occurred.
- Mistake of fact: In some instances, both parties to the contract mistake a fact that is crucial to the terms of the contract. When this happens, neither party has gotten what they truly intended to bargain for, which can lead to recission of the contract and serve as a basis to defend against allegations of breach.
- Estoppel: If the other party has made a statement to you in the past excusing your breaching behavior, they can’t come back later and try to hold you legally accountable for that breach. This is known as estoppel, which seeks to prevent parties to a contract from creating confusion by contradicting themselves.
- Waiver: You have to act in a timely fashion if you want to enforce the terms of a contract. Therefore, when the other party turns a blind eye away from breaching behavior, they may be precluded from arguing breach later on. So, consider when the breaching party either knew or should’ve known of the alleged breaching behavior in question. If it was long ago and they’re just now seeking enforcement of the contract’s terms, then waiver might be a viable defense argument for you.
- Indefinite terms: The terms of a contract should be specific enough that you can tell what they are and what they mean based on the surrounding circumstances. If there are still ambiguities and vagueness shrouding the contract’s terms, even when viewing them in light of the circumstances, it would be unfair to hold you to them. In these circumstances, you can likely argue that being found in breach of the contract is unjust.
Don’t let a breach of contract case damage your business
A mishandled breach of contract case can lead to harmful consequences that you want to avoid. So, if you’re dealing with an issue of breach, then you should carefully consider the best way to defend yourself against the allegations. There may be several ways to do that, you just have to know your options so that you can choose those that are right for you.
