What Do I Have to Prove for a Breach of Contract Lawsuit?

As many business owners know, when you are running a business, you are probably dealing with a lot of contracts. Some of them are probably longer, formal contracts like leases for your office. Others can be as short as a 1-page invoice from one of your vendors for products they supply you (yes, even though it's only that 1 page, it can still be considered a contract). No matter what business you are in, contracts likely dominate many of your business transactions.
When there's a dispute about your contract, there can be a variety of ways to handle it. As a business owner, I prefer to discuss the dispute first with the other party to try to work out some kind of agreement so that the situation does not escalate. If it's a long-term relationship, this may also allow you to preserve that relationship going forward. However, as a lawyer, when I get involved in disputes, it's often at a later stage where those discussions have failed and one or both parties are preparing to file a lawsuit.
At that stage, it's time to meet with the professionals and determine whether a breach of contract has occurred and what your plan should be for going forward.
If you're considering a breach of contract lawsuit, or if you've been served with one and you'd like to plan for the next steps, let's set up a Legal Strategy Session, a 15-20 minute phone call to discuss your situation and what are some next steps you can take: www.andrewmaye...
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00:00 Intro
00:25 Breach of Contract Law Generally Across the States
00:58 Four Elements of Breach of Contract
01:36 Was There a Valid Contract?
03:28 Issues With Performance Under a Contract
04:22 Damages Under a Breach of Contract
05:37 Next Steps

[@davidforday]

You sir, are excellent. Great job explaining, and keep up the good work. The internet needs you.

[@ayerslaw]

Thank you!

[@jennifersteeves5482]

Thank you!!!!! My landlord breached my lease agreement ! I filed a court appeal

[@KBCrochets]

Thank you 🙏

[@user-pw1wo9tt9b]

Me and a dealer made a deal over a car he made a purchase and sale agreement on a docusign after he made it i told him i was not going to sign it because im 17 and i could not pay the car with what the terms said. he agreed and told me he would cancel the contract. The guy signed the contract but i didnt sign it. and i asked him if i needed to do anyrthing on my part to cancel it and he said no. he also told me not to worry about it. Im a huge overthinker could he still sue me and could i still be liable ?. any reply is greatly appreciated.

[@ayerslaw]

@@user-pw1wo9tt9b If you did not sign the contract and advised him that you are under the age of 18, it would be very challenging for someone to try and enforce that contract against you. He could still try to sue you, but it’s not likely that a suit in that circumstance would be successful. You aren’t overthinking things, you are just being cautions and thoughtful in the hopes of avoiding a lawsuit.

[@user-pw1wo9tt9b]

@@ayerslaw thank you for the reply I never paid any deposit and he also never acted on his part of the contracts,so if no performance was done by either sides and the contract isn't valid if he were to sue would his claim even be taken seriously ?.

[@ayerslaw]

@@user-pw1wo9tt9b It sounds like there are a lot of barriers for him to be able to sue. There are no guarantees that he wouldn't try, but there seem to be a lot of things in your favor if he decided to try.

[@TooPrettytopaybillz]

A property owner agreed to rent to me for 12 months, backed out of the lease. Almost withdrew my deposit but changed his mind? Should i take him to court?

[@ayerslaw]

You should speak to a local landlord-tenant attorney to see how your courts would handle this situation. Rental agreements for property often have specific rules that get applied to these situations.

[@cullertransportation]

What about lease agreements for independent contractors vs motor carriers?

[@ayerslaw]

A lease agreement is normally just another form of a contract and the same rules would apply for proving that it had been breached.

[@user-hz2lg1ld8g]

I signed a contract with a landscape contractor and he verbally stated he would start in two weeks. It was not put in writing. Per the terms of the contract I paid 50% down. It has now been 2 1/2 months and no work has started. I’ve contacted them 3 times and basically getting a runaround. Is he in breach of the contract? Thank you for any advise

[@ayerslaw]

The best place to start is to look at the contract itself to see if there's any term that they have violated and if there's an ability for you to terminate it and get your deposit back.

[@user-hz2lg1ld8g]

@@ayerslaw Mr. Ayers My paperwork is an estimate/invoice, which I signed with my $7000.00 deposit. It did not include a start or completion date. The estimate/ invoice is considered a contract,correct? What is “ reasonable time “ before I need to seek legal assistance? Thank you

[@ayerslaw]

@@user-hz2lg1ld8g The invoice can be considered a contract if it has enough terms in it to be considered a contract (that depends on what state you are in and what the courts say on the issue). Many times, there is a "side 2" or "back page" to an invoice that contains additional terms that can make it a contract. If it's been more than 2 months, it may be a good time to seek legal assistance.

[@user-hz2lg1ld8g]

@@ayerslaw thank you so much for your help.

[@carolyndehart1402]

What about a (Hospice Breach of Contract )

[@ayerslaw]

If it's a signed contract, it should have the same core elements. There may be other nuances in the contract, especially if it is for hospice care.

[@jimmoravec1326]

I signed a contract that I was completely against in order to get some of my personal property. After a couple weeks I ended up giving in to signing a contract. Before I signed I had written two letters on different occasions prior to signing that stated I was completely against signing this contract and am only signing it because I’m forced to in order to get some of my personal property. The other party involved breached their agreement in the contract multiple times. I ended up losing my home that was willed to me and my personal property that included a business. I wasn’t physically forced to sign this contract but I was emotionally forced to sign the contract that I was completely against. I have copies of the letters stating that I am against signing this contract and the only reason I am signing it is to get my personal property back that is being kept from me by the opposing party. My question is, would this contract be legal ? Thank you for your time

[@ayerslaw]

The answer is the old lawyer's adage: It all depends. You'd need to review the contract and see if the terms in it are enforceable. If the other party knew you were objecting, there may have been language in the contract that says you are waiving your right to claim you object to it. Without seeing the contract, there are too many unknowns to give you a hard and fast answer, so I would suggest you speak to a local lawyer and review it with them to see what strategies they may have for you. I hope that helps.

[@jimmoravec1326]

Thank you for getting back to me. The only one I had sent my letters to was my former attorney. He drew up the contract without my knowledge and said that I have to sign it in order to get any of my personal property back. That was not why I hired him and I didn’t understand why he was doing this. My former attorney didn’t do one thing that I hired him to do regarding the retainer agreement. He just kept telling me that we will get started on it. Well it never happened, I have emails and voicemails for proof that he completely went against our retainer agreement. I paid him a retainer fee and the rest was on contingency payment. He completely sabotaged my case causing me to lose everything I worked for and had coming to me. I had a court date and at the hearing the opposing sides attorney asked to see the affidavit on my behalf. My former attorney never even filed anything with the court, the judge asked why he hadn’t filed anything before the court date. His response was I don’t know your honor. All he talked about was the contract, and the judge didn’t know what he was talking about because the judge didn’t know anything about this contract. I have emails from my former attorney that prove his misconduct. Doing some research after the fact I am not the only one he has done this to. His license to practice was suspended for a short period of time and had probation for x amount of time. I’m sure I’m not on your list of good people because of my past experience with a fellow attorney but facts are facts. I’m not sure if the contract is valid as far as the court goes since it was never viewed by the judge. But I do know that it’s invalid due to hindering and interference from the opposing party. Everything has been documented dates and times The contract is one page, if you would like to see it I would not have a problem faxing it to you. I know that it’s not easy to give any kind of information about how to handle a situation when you’re receiving information from texts. So if you are interested in seeing the contract you are more than welcome. Because I would like to know what your take on it is. I’m sure you may have heard of my former attorney, he’s in your area. I will not relinquish his name over the internet even though he wronged me, I’m a respectable person. Again Thank you for your time

[@jimmoravec1326]

No advice or comment ?

[@ayerslaw]

@@jimmoravec1326 What you've laid out is a bit more than advice and wouldn't be proper to discuss in the public comments section of a KZbin video. If you're located in MN, NY, NJ or CT, I'd be happy to discuss it further with you. If you aren't in one of those states, then I would suggest you speak to a local attorney near you about the case.

[@jimmoravec1326]

@@ayerslaw I’m from Minnesota

[@Special_Operations_814]

My music album was never autographed😢

[@ayerslaw]

I'm sorry to hear that @Special_Operations_814 ~ I haven't put out any albums myself, so I probably don't have one to autograph for you.

[@Special_Operations_814]

A musician that should remain nameless ,was to autograph my album "I paid the fee for it to be autograph" its a breach.

[@carolyndehart1402]

What abouta KRS Revised Statue Law

[@ayerslaw]

I'm not sure what the KSR Revised Statue Law is, so I'm not sure I can answer the question.

[@someguydan]

My employer offered me $XX.XX and only paid me $YY.YY dollars, I've performed my job but now they owe me $1.31hr for a years work. They claim ignorance and it was a typo.

[@ayerslaw]

If you have an employment contract, you should review the contract to see what it says if there is a dispute over the terms of the contract. Some contracts will allow you to file a lawsuit, others may require you to arbitrate, but the first place to look is in that contract.