What Is a Termination in Contract Law

If a contract is intentionally not honored by a party, this is called a breach of contract and is grounds for termination of the contract. A breach of contract may exist because a party has not or not fully fulfilled its obligations. For example, if you purchased a product that arrived one day after the agreed delivery date, this is an insignificant breach of contract. However, if your order was received two weeks after the delivery date and affected your business, this is a substantial breach of contract. For example: “This is a serious breach, which is why the contract is terminated.” Termination due to recession is different from termination of a contract. As with contract termination, when termination is available due to a recession, the contract is unravelled as null and void, as if the contract had never been negotiated and signed. 18.5 Termination Fees. Except as expressly provided in this section, WSI shall not be liable for any termination fees related to expiration or termination due to this Agreement. Fraud, misrepresentation or error. If the contract was concluded in circumstances that constitute fraud, misrepresentation or error, the contract may be terminated. In this situation, there could not have been a “meeting of chiefs” on the terms of the contract, since the actual facts were not known to the parties. 4.2 Termination for Cause. Termination clauses for cause can be very specific or vague depending on the industry, the normal performance process and the type of contract.

For example, if a project depends on the completion of a service on a certain date and a party does not perform on that date, the party`s inaction may result in termination due to that breach alone. Termination of a contract means termination of the contract before it has been fully performed by the parties. In other words, before the parties perform all their respective contractual obligations, their obligation to perform those obligations expires. Not all contracts will retain their appeal or value during the term of the contract. Contract termination is essential to minimize financial and operational risks for the business. In the absence of language in the contract specifying what happens in the event of termination of the contract, the parties have the possibility to appeal in the event of a breach. Several remedies are available in case of breach of contract. A termination clause provides the parties involved with an exit strategy to minimize risk and mitigate damages if circumstances change or events beyond the parties` control. In a study published in April 2020, Kira Systems collected 132 agreements filed on EDGAR from a wide range of commercial industries.

We analyzed the prevalence of convenience termination clauses using our AI-powered delivery model. We found that less than half of the contracts contained termination clauses that limited the solutions between the parties when a natural and unforeseen event occurred. Service companies should analyze current termination agreements to determine convenience provisions and, if necessary, include them in future agreements.