A contract is an essential business tool. If your business is like most, it relies on contracts to procure the materials you need as well as sell the final product or service that you offer. A valid contract must meet four key criteria:

  • Each party must provide something of value to the other party. Typically, one party provides goods or services and the other party provides money in exchange for the goods/services.
  • Each party must have the legal capacity to enter into a contract: all parties must be age 18+ and be mentally competent to enter into a contract.
  • The contract must be for goods or services that are legal to buy and sell in Florida.
  • Both parties must have agreed to the contract.

If you have a valid contract with another party and they fail to uphold their obligations, you may be entitled to legal recourse. Unlike other states, Florida requires that the breach in contract be material for you to seek a legal remedy for it. Whether a breach is considered material or not will depend on the specifics of the situation. An experienced business law attorney can advise you if your breach in contract qualifies as material.

If the breach is material, you have several legal options for remedies:

  • General or compensatory damages: This occurs when the party that didn’t uphold their end of the contract pays you for the financial losses you incurred due to their breach of contract. The value of the damages is directly based on the value of your business losses as a result of the contract breach. This is a very common outcome of breach of contract cases.
  • Special damages: This occurs when there are additional, indirect losses that you face on top of the direct financial losses from the contract breach. Most breach of contract cases are not awarded special damages; this is reserved for extenuating circumstances.
  • Liquidated damages: Some contracts have a provision that lists out the damages that each party will need to pay if they breach the contract. Typically, the liquidated damages must be proportional to the financial losses that you actually incur for the court to uphold them. You will also need to show that you did everything possible to minimize your financial losses.
  • Punitive damages: This type of damage is reserved for cases of fraud or egregious misconduct; the courts rarely order punitive damages for a breach on contract case. It is designed to punish the perpetrators and act as a deterrent to others.

    • The first step in remedying a breach of contract is to meet with an experienced business law attorney, like the attorneys at Rader Law Group. Once we understand the details of your situation, we can advise you if a material breach has occurred and your legal options for compensation. Call us today for a free consultation on your case.

    Rader Law Group, LLC

    With decades and decades combined experience, the attorneys at Rader Law Group understand the meaning of Justice. Our one and only mission is to get each client the justice he or she deserves; our team of attorneys never back down when we know our client is right.

    We offer our clients the compassion and guidance they need as they work through trying times in their lives. The balance of working relentlessly for our clients combined with our caring approach has helped us achieve a fantastic record of success with our clients. We get our clients the justice they deserve.

    At Rader Law Group, You matter. Your justice matters. Your Justice Starts Here. 954-913-2273.