|
Sections
Agriculture
Applied sciences
Arts
Belief
Business
Chronology
Culture
Education
Environment
Geography
Health
History
Humanities
Language
Law
Life
Mathematics
Nature
People
Politics
Science
Society
Technology
|
This article is about the excuse for non-performance of a contract. For the criminal defense, see Impossibility defense.
In contract law, impossibility is an excuse for the nonperformance of duties under a contract, based on a change in circumstances (or the discovery of preexisting circumstances), the nonoccurrence of which was an underlying assumption of the contract, that makes performance of the contract literally impossible. For such a defense to be raised, performance must not merely be difficult or unexpectedly costly for one party; there must be no way for it to actually be accomplished.
For example, if Rachel contracts to pay Joey $1000 to paint her house on October 1, but the house burns to the ground before the end of September, Rachel is excused from her duty to pay Joey the $1000, and he is excused from his duty to paint her house; however, Joey may still be able to sue for the unjust enrichment of any benefit conferred on Rachel before her house burned down (e.g. if Rachel paid Joey in advance, then the amount of payment might be a compensatory injury).
However, the parties to a contract may choose to ignore impossibility by inserting a hell or high water clause, which mandates that payments continue even if completion of the contract becomes physically impossible.
The English case that established this doctrine at common law is Taylor v. Caldwell.
See also [edit]
| |
Toronto Star
Fri, 24 May 2013 04:37:36 -0700
As news of the allegations against Toronto Mayor Rob Ford rolls and roils its way across the globe, a contingent of skeptics has cast doubt on the story of his alleged crack smoking by claiming the video purporting to show it could have been doctored ...
| | |
The Atlantic
Mon, 20 May 2013 21:29:55 -0700
Which led me to the main conclusion: about the near-impossibility of the tightrope act Barack Obama is attempting as America's first non-white president, and the unusual combination of virtuosity (as with this speech) and unflappability (as with ...
| | |
Macleans.ca (blog)
Tue, 07 May 2013 14:09:05 -0700
Well, the TV networks will soon be announcing their new series pickups, and there'll be a lot to say then – like, how many of the new shows are about serial killers? (The ideal pilot, from a broadcast network point of view, would be a single-camera ...
| | |
Christian Post
Thu, 25 Apr 2013 05:11:11 -0700
No one loves Jesus before he gets converted. No one. That's because only the Holy Spirit dwelling on the inside of you can give you a love for Jesus Christ. It is impossible to have that love without the work of the Spirit. Period. The new birth is ...
|  SportsNewsIRELAND |
SportsNewsIRELAND
Wed, 15 May 2013 00:35:05 -0700
David Haye out of Charr fight, Klitschko fight now an impossibility. By Dallan O'Donnell. Updated: May 15, 2013. David Haye. Former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye has had to pull out of his scheduled fight with Manuel Charr because of injury, ...
| | |
Baltimore Sun
Tue, 21 May 2013 10:03:35 -0700
After Kentucky Derby winner Orb finished in fourth place at the Preakness, we are on the longest drought ever for a Triple Crown winner ("Lukas kept prediction to himself: Oxbow," May 20). The last time a horse won a Triple Crown was Affirmed in 1978.
| | |
The Border Mail
Fri, 24 May 2013 12:09:30 -0700
''If we take these designs collectively, I think what we see most starkly is the impossibility of summing up our collective identity,'' Sanders says. ''Some of the contributors felt that flags are always inherently flawed, they can never be honest and ...
|  CBC.ca |
CBC.ca
Fri, 24 May 2013 09:14:29 -0700
Bruce Montone, the Chief of Windsor Fire and Rescue, said given the number of inspectors and structures in Windsor it's a mathematical impossibility to follow the recommendations for inspection frequency. However, he doesn't believe that is a ...
|
Oops, we seem to be having trouble contacting Twitter
|
|
You can talk about Impossibility with people all over the world in our discussions.
|