LW 221 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Formal Language, Home Improvement, Sole Proprietorship
Document Summary
Condition: an event that must occur before a party becomes obligated. May be stated expressly or implied, and no formal language is necessary to create one. Substantial performance: strict performance, that requires one party to fulfill its duties perfectly, is unusual. In construction and service contracts, substantial performance is generally sufficient to entitle the promisor to the contract price, minus the costs of defects in the work. A party that fails to perform substantially receives nothing on the contract itself and will recover only the value of the work, if any. Personal satisfaction: contracts are interpreted under an objective standard, requiring reasonable ground for dissatisfaction, unless the work involves personal judgment and the parties intended a subjective standard. Time of the essence: strict enforcement of contract deadlines. Merely including a date for performance does not make a time of the essence. Material breach: the only kind that will discharge a contract.
