What is a Breach of Contract?
A breach of contract is the failure of a party to honor a legally permitted part of a written or spoken contract. When one of the parties does not fulfill his or her side of the contract, the contractual obligations are said to have been breached. A breach of contract can occur in any of the following ways: Common examples of this include: — one party not delivering goods as specified in the contract — one party not making the agreed upon payment in the time specified by the contract — one party providing goods that do not meet the specifications outlined in the contract — one party performing a service or delivering goods that do not meet the quality outlined in the contract — one party taking actions that prevent the other party from fulfilling his or her side of the contract . When a breach of contract occurs, the aggrieved party may take legal action against the offending party, demanding compliance with the terms of the contract, vicarious performance of the tasks set forth in the contract, and possible damages. Understanding what constitutes a breach of contract is very important, as it helps ensure that you are not in breach of your own obligations. It can also help your lawyer prepare an effective letter to persuade the other party to honor their obligations under the contract.
Components of a Breach of Contract Letter
Parties: You must include your name and that of the party you are complaining about. The full names of the parties should be included. If the other party is a corporation, you must include the name of the corporation, and the name of the person at the corporation you are complaining about.
Details of the Breach: The letter should include the pertinent or specific details of the breach. This may be in the form of some specific dates, or background regarding what the breaching party had agreed to.
Remedy: The letter should include what you expect to remedy the situation. The letter will depend upon the specifics of the situation, and what you deem is a fair remedy.
It is important to understand that a breach of contract letter is not necessarily a letter threatening legal action. Nor is it a letter that should be so aggressive that it hampers future negotiation efforts. The breach of contract letter should be what you want the other party to do with regards to any breach of contract. More often than you think when people get into a contract, and one of the parties breaches or violates the terms of the contract, the result may not be negative. It may be that the party who breached the contract is willing to talk out the matter and resolve the situation without requiring lengthy litigation.
Advantages of a Helpfully Free Template
One of the most popular blog posts on this site is my piece on how to write a breach of contract letter. The most frequent question I receive is whether I have a free breach of contract letter template. As such, I am including one here. I hope that it is helpful.
- Take the guess work out. An "Eight Element Breach of Contract Demand" letter includes: (1) an explanation of the promise breached; (2) an explanation of how the alleged breacher breached the contract; (3) a statement of how the breach proximately caused you damages; (4) an explanation of what you would like from the breacher. (5) the approximate dollar amount of your damages; (6) a reasonable time in which the alleged breacher has to remedy the problem; (7) your contact information; and (8) a clear statement that the demand letter is from an attorney. Requiring all eight elements makes you look professional.
- Save Time. This Blog Post serves as a template that makes it easy for you to figure out what goes into a Breach of Contract demand letter. Data shows that the average person spends roughly 20 minutes to 1 hour creating a such a letter. My experience is that those numbers are low. Preparing a letter without a template, usually takes a few hours. Lawyers spend even more time because we often don’t draft and then send the letter. Instead, we often draft, send, get a response from the alleged breacher and then follow publication. Having this blog will save you time.
- Money in the bank. Although I am obviously biased, most people cannot complete a legal letter without a template. Most of us are not experienced or even familiar with writing a letter like this. Having a free tool available that serves as a template will likely prevent you from wasting money on an attorney for a simple issue.
- You decide whether you need a lawyer. If money is tight, you can complete it yourself. Alternatively, you can save the template on your computer and hire an attorney. It is always best to consult an attorney before taking any legal action, but at least having the template available may prevent you from taking legal action that has no merit.
How to Make Your Template Your Own
Once you have downloaded the free breach of contract letter template, it’s time for the fun part—customizing the template so that it meets your particular needs. Note that it was always intended that the template would be edited to suit your needs, so this is perfectly normal and welcome. The template is not a one-size-fits-all document; that is why you have this separate guide to help you enhance and adjust the template.
First, read through the entire document and get a sense of how it is written. By the time you are done reading it, you should have a pretty decent idea of the general tone and language it uses. In most cases, there will likely be only minor changes that you will need to make after getting this general feel for the document.
Next, in all places where it is marked with brackets, you will need to remove the brackets and fill in the appropriate details. These are specific to your situation, for example, the name of the person to whom you are sending the letter, the name of your business and the product or service you provided that is in dispute. Naturally, you will not need to use this template on every single contract dispute you face, so it is fairly likely that each time you use the template, there will be some details that will need to be changed.
Take care when typing out these details, as you do not want to accidentally change existing text that you do not intend to alter. As you are typing, be sure that when a name is used more than once in the document, such as the name of the person to whom you are writing or the name of the business or entity that is making the payment or reimbursement, you use the same spelling throughout. There are few things more confusing than having multiple ways to spell a name or business in one document.
While you should strive for brevity with your letter, remember that being clear and explaining the points of dispute in detail is much more important than being concise. If you find yourself running into a point where brevity may end up costing you clarity, or if you find yourself feeling like you have absolutely no way to say what you want to say without going on an extended tangent, try to either write that point in a separate paragraph without trying to keep it as a single paragraph, or to instead write a new letter that addresses that specific point or concern.
As you end the letter, be sure that you include all requisite contact information for you and your business, including names, addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers and email addresses. This is especially important if you are sending a copy to your attorney, as your attorney may not have the information memorized for every person in your organization.
Simple Mistakes People Make
Avoiding Common Mistakes
When faced with a breach of contract, putting your complaint down on paper is often one of the most difficult tasks. It is a frustrating task because you are probably feeling wronged or irritated and do not want to deal with the other party.
However, it is vital in all business situations that you consider carefully the tone and content of any formal communication to another party. Nearly every mistake that people make in this situation can be avoided by following a few simple rules.
The first mistake people make is to allow their emotions to interfere with their professionalism. You are angry that you didn’t get what you paid for. You are angry that the words "breach of contract" have come up in association with you and your dealings. You are angry that the contract is so important to you and yet so easily transgressed by the other party. Then you sit down to write a letter about the situation and allow all of your anger and resentment to make their way onto the page.
These emotions make you sound unprofessional and overly emotional. Keeping things calm and neutral is a better avenue. It gives you leverage with the other person and it creates a more serious tone that is persuasive. You must remember that the person you are communicating with may be angry too, but they also want to save face . If you push buttons and rock the boat they are likely to push back rather than to negotiate.
Mistake number two is even easier to avoid. This is simply taking shortcuts with your letter. You need to be very careful with the wording to be sure that you state exactly what you want. This means writing out the full details of the situation and what you expect to happen next in a realistic sense.
If you say "I will see you in court!" they might decide that rather than working it out with you, they should let a judge decide. If you say "I will never do business with you again!" you need to know that this is a very common mistake that businesses make in informal situations and they might not take it seriously even if you do.
Mistake number three is to get personal. These are business letters and while some legal representatives are no doubt going to sound very stiff and formal, it is a good idea for you to keep the tone separate. You must keep your private thoughts for your personal correspondence.
Finally, the most important mistake to avoid is using the wrong tone. You need to be both polite and demanding at the same time. If you sound entirely polite with no hints of danger, they will ignore you. If you sound threatening and angry they might ignore you out of fright. Therefore you need to come off as calm, cool, and above it all to remain commanding.
Considerations and Precautions
Although it is possible to write a letter yourself without a lawyer being involved, speaking with one is the best approach when it comes to preparing a breach of contract letter. A breach of contract can be complicated, and you may find that there is a nuance or an issue that may require that a lawyer be retained, or that uses the free breach of contract letter template may not provide exactly what you need. While you can certainly write your own letter, you must remember that even though it looks simple on the surface, a breach of contract may take a turn for the worse, and you do not want to be caught without any legal advice. One rule of thumb is that if pecuniary compensation from the other side as a result of breach of contract is important to you, then seek advice. That is, hiring a lawyer before writing the letter is best.
When Should You Speak with a Lawyer?
There are a few conditions that arise from a breach of contract letter, and each can have a fundamental impact on the contract and how it is interpreted. When you see one of these conditions, make sure to meet with a lawyer:
An Amendment to the Contract
The letter containing the amendment to the contract requires an acceptance from both sides. So, a breach of contract letter cannot, through one signature, create a binding contract. Make sure that if something is included in the letter that wasn’t part of the original agreement, you affirmatively seek the acceptance of the other party before enforcing the terms of the letter, or else nothing has been created.
A Waiver of Conditions
A waiver of condition means that even though the condition may be broken, the breach will not be enforced against the non-breaching party. A qualified lawyer with experience in this area may be able to help you determine, based on the facts and circumstances, whether you should or must enforce the condition or avoid the breach.
A Breach Based on Impossibility of Performance
If you suffered a breach due to an impossible physical or legal activity, then speak with a lawyer. There are several considerations, such as frustration of purpose and impossibility, that may help shed light on the situation.
Finding Trustworthy Free Templates
When searching for a proper breach of contract letter template, it is almost always recommended you search on trusted sites. There are contradictory views about the importance of a breach of contract letter template. However, most lawyers agree that templates for breach of contract letter should be used carefully.
Businesses now use Microsoft Word templates that help them get a legal document without hiring a lawyer. A breach of contract letter should contain all the right elements that will help you get through your case. There are many paid and free, reliable resources that provide templates for breach of contract letters. Whether you have to answer a breach of contract or you want to demand damages, you can find various templates that can help you do both .
Most of the reliable and reputable legal websites and apps provide a free section that provides sample and basic documents. Those sites also include some basic software that is great for both professional and personal use. You can find many such websites some of which include Findlaw.com, Lawdepot.com and many others. Some apps also provide templates for free, although most of them are paid services.
There are some other websites that allow you to download a template in exchange for an email subscribe. Although those websites are not as popular, their templates are usually highly detailed and provide high quality information.