Contract Violation Attorneys Serving Rocky Hill, Connecticut
Even though your word is worth its weight in gold, not everyone follows the golden rule. That is why we have contracts in place to safeguard both parties to a transaction. It’s time to take legal action to safeguard your legal and financial interests if your opponent hasn’t kept their half of the bargain.
Your choice of counsel can have a significant impact on the result of your case. You cannot afford to settle for anything less than an attorney who has the necessary experience, abilities, and resources to get the best potential result.
Our law office, Darius Law Group, is ready to safeguard your rights and hold persons and companies accountable for violating contract conditions. We have a lot of experience representing both people and companies.
After suffering losses as a consequence of a contract violation, our experienced contract violation attorneys will make sure you are not injured again by the judicial system.
Why Do You Need Contract Violation Attorneys in Connecticut?
Retaining the service of one of our skilled contract violation attorneys can give you benefits such as:
Avoiding Potential Issues
It is always important to have one of our contract violation attorneys evaluate any contract before signing it to verify that the terms accurately reflect your understanding of the agreement. If not, we may help you revise the contract to clarify and specify any clauses that are confusing before you sign it. This will help you prevent any future contract misunderstandings.
Current Disputes
If you and the other party are currently arguing the terms of your agreement, our contract violation attorneys can help you clarify and identify your and the other party’s responsibilities in the agreement so that any disagreements may be addressed in your favor.
Dispute Resolution
Alternative dispute resolution, commonly known as mediation, is an alternative to going to court to resolve a contract disagreement. Our experienced contract violation attorneys can perform an unbiased and objective review of both sides’ claims during mediation and seek to reach a solution that is acceptable to all parties.
What is a Contract?
A contract is a series of legally enforceable commitments to which both parties agree. These commitments bind each participant to obligations, responsibilities, or duties that are legally enforceable. Before a contract may be regarded as legally binding, it must include certain components.
What Are the Key Elements of a Contract?
Although most contracts are written, they can also be deemed legitimate if they are signed orally. Oral contracts are not always enforceable, especially when real property is involved.
Offer
One party frequently provides an offer to do a specified action while establishing a contract. They could make an offer to pay for a job or sell something for a certain price. A business can extend a job offer with a specified compensation and benefits package to a potential employee, or someone might offer to sell a car.
Acceptance
The person to whom the offer is extended must accept the offer for the contract to be completed. The agreement can be written or verbal, and it can take place in person, over the phone, by mail, or by technological transmission such as email. When someone accepts a job offer, they must sign the offer letter and say “yes” to the conditions of the employment offer.
Consideration and Mutuality of Obligation
Each party must contribute something of value to the other party as part of the contract agreement; this is referred to as “consideration.” An employee, for example, will contribute their time and effort in exchange for compensation from their employer. When each side agrees to execute its task in exchange for the value received, this is known as mutuality of obligation. An employer, for example, must compensate their employee for the completed job.
Agreement
When all parties to a contract agree on the meaning of the provisions mentioned in the contract, they are said to have reached an agreement. A “meeting of minds” is another term for an accord. When a homeowner and a contractor agree on a price for a renovation, for example, both parties understand and agree that the price includes labor, materials, and supplies.
Competency and Capacity
To be able to engage in a contract, each party must have the legal power to do so. If a contracting party lacks the mental capacity to comprehend the terms of the contract, the contract is void due to a lack of mental competency and capacity. For example, if someone offered to buy a property from an older adult with dementia for an absurdly cheap price, the transaction would be considered void. Contracts involving minors would be subject to the same restrictions.
Legality of a Contract
A contract must serve a legal purpose that does not break any law. It is, for example, illegal to pay someone to hurt someone or cause property damage. A valid contract would not include a commitment to conduct an illegal act.
What is Contract Violation?
A contract violation happens when one party fails to follow the terms of their agreement, which describes a particular exchange of products or services between two or more parties. Parties can break a contract wholly or partially. The following are some examples of contract violations:
- Not completing a project on time
- Not providing payment on time
- Not meeting the standards presented in the contract
- Not completing the project as outlined in the contract
How to Identify a Contract Violation?
You must affirm the following to establish that a contract violation occurred and that you are entitled to compensation:
- Contractual Validity. You must show the validity of your contract before you can take your case to court. This implies it has all key contract components unique to your state and was signed by all parties involved.
- Violation of Terms. You must show that a contract violation happened.
- Plaintiff’s Terms. You must fulfill all of the contract’s terms and conditions.
- Prior Notice. You must notify the defendant of your intention to sue before filing a lawsuit. You can do it orally, but a written notification is easier to prove.
What is a Violation of Contract Claim in Connecticut?
Everyone would, in an ideal world, keep verbal vows or handshake agreements. Unfortunately, in the commercial world, this is not the case. Legally binding contracts are frequently required to guarantee that parties keep their promises. When a party fails to satisfy a contract’s expectations, you may opt to pursue legal action in the form of a contract violation claim.
What Are the Three Main Elements of Contract Violation Claim?
A contract can be viewed as a legally binding commitment. Contracts differ greatly in extent and complexity, but they all outline basic rights and duties for the parties involved. When one of the parties to a commercial contract fails to meet his or her obligations, the other party or parties may file a claim for contract violation.
For the plaintiff to be awarded reparation in a violation of contract lawsuit, certain components must be present. To succeed in a violation of contract claim, the plaintiff must show the following:
A Valid Contract Exists Between the Two Parties
Oral and written contracts are both legally enforceable, although oral contracts are more difficult to establish. An offer, voluntary acceptance of that offer, and acceptable remuneration for each party make up a legitimate contract.
There Was a Violation of Terms
The plaintiff must demonstrate which parts of the contract were violated. For example, a contract may have required a party to supply a specific product or service by a specific date, and that party has failed to meet that duty. The court will have to decide if the missing deadline was a violation of the contract.
For the court to entertain a claim, the claimed violation must have a significant impact on the contract’s worth.
The Violation of Contract Caused Damages
It is not enough to show that a contract violation happened to win a violation of contract lawsuit. The plaintiff must also show that the violation resulted in some sort of financial loss for the company. Loss of dollars, time, and other quantifiable harms are examples of damages.
In very extreme circumstances, the court may even impose punitive damages on the plaintiff. The court also can enforce any contractual fines or fees.
What Are Common Remedies for Contract Violation?
For contract violations, there are various typical remedies. The proper remedy is determined by the contract’s provisions, the nature of the violation, and the facts of the case.
Compensatory Damages
The most typical legal remedy for contract violation is an award of compensatory damages. Compensatory damages are calculated based on the real losses you have incurred as a result of the contract infringement. Expectation damages and consequential damages are the two most common types.
Expectation Damages
Expectation damages, often known as general damages, are those that arise immediately from a contract violation. The expected damages in that situation would be $10,000, which would be the difference between the contract price and the price the corporation had to pay another supplier for the identical product.
Consequential Damages
Damages that occur as a result of the violation are known as consequential damages. Profits lost as a result of the breach are sometimes included in consequential damages.
Frequently, the violating party will try to avoid paying consequential damages by alleging that they are either too speculative or unforeseeable. Furthermore, contracting parties may limit or prohibit either party from obtaining consequential damages.
Our skilled contract violation attorneys can help you counter these claims and increase the amount of money you receive in damages.
Specific Performance
Specific performance is a contract violation remedy in which a court requires the violating party to fulfill their obligations. As a remedy for contract violation, monetary damages are usually preferred over specified performance.
When monetary damages are insufficient, however, specific performance may be possible. They may, for example, ask for a contract for something that is one-of-a-kind and difficult to duplicate.
Injunction
Injunctions work similarly to specified performance orders. The difference is when a court directs a party to do something in precise performance. An injunction is a court order that prohibits a party from doing anything.
A permanent or temporary injunction might be issued. To avoid possible damage, temporary injunctions are frequently issued while litigation is proceeding. In a dispute involving a non-compete contract violation, for example, a court could compel the defendant to stop engaging in allegedly competitive conduct until the case is settled.
As the name implies, a permanent injunction lasts forever. A judge may issue a permanent injunction as part of their final judgment in a lawsuit.
Rescission
As a remedy for a violation, rescinding a contract permits a non-violating party to cancel it. The non-violating party might simply decline to fulfill their share of the deal rather than pursue monetary damages. Rescission returns the parties to the position they would have been in if they had not engaged in the contract in the first place.
The violation must, however, be significant to justify rescission. That is to say, it must be central to the contractual arrangement..
Liquidated Damages
Liquidated damages are a set sum agreed upon by the parties in the contract as compensation for a violation. Where calculating the right amount of compensatory damages is problematic, liquidated damages provisions are frequently used in contracts.
Liquidated damages are often used in real estate acquisition agreements and construction contracts. They might be a set amount, such as the earnest money deposit on a purchase deal. They might also rely on a formula, such as a certain sum of money for each day a deadline is missed. Liquidated damages provisions are also likely to be included in partnership agreements.
Although courts usually uphold liquidated damages provisions, they can be overruled if the amount of liquidated damages is significantly less or more than the value of the actual loss the plaintiff has incurred.
Nominal Damages
When a plaintiff’s claim for compensatory damages isn’t supported by evidence, a court may award minimal damages as a legal remedy for contract violation. The court accepts that a contract violation occurred, but no injury can be estimated using minimal damages.
While earning modest damages may seem hollow, the plaintiff gains from the favorable verdict. This might be only a moral win, or it could open the way for the plaintiff to seek a different legal case.
If the contract contains an attorney fee provision, an award of minimal damages may allow the plaintiff to pursue the defendant for legal costs.
What Are Some Contract Violation Cases That We Handle?
Here are just a handful of the various contract issues that our experienced contract violation attorneys handle:
Corporate Contracts
Shareholder agreements, bylaws, cross-purchase agreements, partnership agreements, operating agreements for LLCs, and subchapter S companies are all examples of corporate contract conflicts.
Employment Contracts
Non-compete agreements, secret agreements, executive compensation agreements, for-cause termination, earn-outs, bonuses, salary, override payments, and incentive sales are all handled by our contract violation attorneys.
Business Agreements
We look at distribution contracts, acquiring, and selling goods, as well as UCC, promissory notes, guarantee agreements, and joint ventures.
Intellectual Property Contracts
Non-disclosure agreements, confidentiality agreements, trade secrets, licensing agreements, and intellectual property assignments are among our services.
Technology Contracts
We handle technology contracts such as software purchase agreements, master services agreements, service level agreements, license agreements, terms of service agreements, and privacy policies.
We Fight for the Rights of Individuals and Businesses
We have the knowledge, resources, and experience to put things right for you, whether your contract is personal or professional. Darius Law Group can handle all types of contract violation claims, including those stemming from:
- Purchase and sales agreements
- Hospitality contracts (weddings, catering, etc.)
- Residential real estate transactions
- Commercial real estate transactions
- Lease agreements
- Vendor and supplier contracts
- Construction contracts
- Licensing agreements
We will thoroughly analyze the facts of your case and work with you to get the best possible result. This might involve negotiating a settlement or filing a lawsuit.
Our experienced Connecticut business law attorneys will make sure you understand your alternatives, as well as the legal and financial implications, so you can make an educated decision.