If you have made an agreement or contract with someone, you likely expect them to hold up their end of the bargain – or you probably wouldn’t be making an agreement with them in the first place! When the other party doesn’t follow through, it can leave you feeling frustrated, angry, or betrayed. You may have lost precious time, money, or both because of their inability to follow through.
So what are your options when someone else has breached the contract? This article will discuss contract breach cases, covering topics such as:
There are many different types of contracts in many different types of contexts, from business contracts to service contracts to real estate contracts. Each type of contract includes basic elements and lays out an agreement.
Your contract could be written, or it could be verbal or oral. Most commonly, we deal with written contracts between parties where there is a dispute, usually relating to a service that has not been completed or money that has not been paid.
First and foremost, your contract must have three elements to it: an offer, an acceptance, and consideration. Contracts include both verbal and written contracts. Obviously, it is much easier and more straightforward to attempt to enforce a written contract, but oral contracts can also be enforced.
However, either type of agreement must have the three elements (offer, acceptance, and consideration) in order to be considered a contract and enforced. If damages are proven from a breach of your contract, then the court may enter a judgment in your favor.
In general, under Illinois law, written contracts have a 10-year statute of limitations and oral contracts have a five-year statute of limitations. Of course, the sooner you realize that there may be a breach of a contract and you seek to enforce that contract legally through the courts, the better.
You should always seek out counsel sooner rather than later and not wait until the end of the statute of limitations. If you wait too long, there could be some negative impacts on your case.
Most commonly in breach of contract cases, whether they are oral contracts or written contracts, the way that a court measures damages is through a benefit of the bargain analysis. This analysis looks at the potential results of the contract.
If you and the other party had both followed the contract as it was supposed to have been followed, what would the results have been? What would the benefit of your bargain contract have been?
At the end of the day, the court will attempt to put the non-breaching party in the same position that it would have found itself had the contract been fulfilled and had there been no breach. For example, if you lost money due to the contract breach, the court might require the other party to pay you the amount you lost.
The most common remedy is monetary damages. If you have lost money because the person you were working with has breached your contract, you will of course be concerned with obtaining the money that is rightfully owed to you.
Depending on the nature of the contract, some contracts may also provide injunctive relief. With injunctive relief, you can ask the court to order the other party to take a certain action or refrain from a certain action – in addition to or apart from ordering monetary damages.
For more information on Breach Of Contract Litigation In Illinois State, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (630) 608-2124 today.
