Browse:  A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
     
Enter a Legal Term

Search the Definitions

SELECT A WORD TO VIEW THE COMPLETE DEFINITION:
anticipatory breach
n. when a party to a contract repudiates (reneges on) his/her obligations under that contract before fully performing those obligations. This can be by word ("I won't deliver the rest of the goods" or "I can't make any more payments") or by action (not showing up with goods or stopping payments). Th...
bilateral contract
n. an agreement in which the parties exchange promises for each to do something in the future. "Susette Seller promises to sell her house to Bobby Buyer and Buyer promises to pay Seller $100,000 for it." This is distinct from a "unilateral contract," in which there is a promise to pay if the other p...
breach
1) n. literally, a break. A breach may be a failure to perform a contract (breaking its terms), failure to do one's duty (breach of duty, or breach of trust), causing a disturbance, threatening, or other violent acts which break public tranquility (breach of peace), illegally entering property (brea...
breach of contract
n. failing to perform any term of a contract, written or oral, without a legitimate legal excuse. This may include not completing a job, not paying in full or on time, failure to deliver all the goods, substituting inferior or significantly different goods, not providing a bond when required, being ...
breach of warranty
n. determination that a statement as to title of property, including real property or any goods, is proved to be untrue, whether intended as a falsehood or not. It can also apply to an assurance of quality of a product or item sold. The party making the warranty is liable to the party to whom the gu...
contract
1) n. an agreement with specific terms between two or more persons or entities in which there is a promise to do something in return for a valuable benefit known as consideration. Since the law of contracts is at the heart of most business dealings, it is one of the three or four most significant ar...
contractor
n. 1) a person or entity that enters into a contract. 2) commonly, a person or entity that agrees to construct a building or to provide or install specialized portions of the construction. The party responsible for the overall job is a "general contractor," and those he/she/it hires to construct or ...
implied contract
n. an agreement which is found to exist based on the circumstances when to deny a contract would be unfair and/or result in unjust enrichment to one of the parties. An implied contract is distinguished from an "express contract."
installment contract
n. an agreement in which payments of money, delivery of goods or performance of services are to be made in a series of payments, deliveries or performances, usually on specific dates or upon certain happenings. One significance is that failure to pay an installment when due is a breach in which dama...
oral contract
n. an agreement made with spoken words and either no writing or only partially written. An oral contract is just as valid as a written agreement. The main problem with an oral contract is proving its existence or the terms. As one wag observed: "An oral contract is as good as the paper it's written ...
quasi contract
n. a situation in which there is an obligation as if there was a contract, although the technical requirements of a contract have not been fulfilled.
severable contract
n. an agreement which is made up of several separate contracts between the same parties, such as series of sales, shipments or different pieces of equipment. Therefore, breach of one of the separate (severable) contracts is not a breach of the remainder of the overall contract and is not an excuse f...
subcontractor
n. a person or business which has a contract (as an "independent contractor" and not an employee) with a contractor to provide some portion of the work or services on a project which the contractor has agreed to perform. In building construction, subcontractors may include such trades as plumbing, e...
unilateral contract
n. an agreement to pay in exchange for performance, if the potential performer chooses to act. A "unilateral" contract is distinguished from a "bilateral" contract, which is an exchange of one promise for another. Example of a unilateral contract: "I will pay you $1,000 if you bring my car from Clev...



The People's Law Dictionary by Gerald and Kathleen Hill Publisher Fine Communications