10701 Corporate Dr. Ste 340-104, Stafford, TX 77477

logo
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Practice Area Overview
    • Asset Protection
    • Business Law Services
      • Business Formation
      • Business Contracts
      • Documents for Startup Businesses
    • Estate Planning
    • Wills and Trusts
  • Blog
  • Contact Us

Factors That Might Make a Contract Unenforceable

November 19, 2018 by Sandra Ighalo

Legal Issues That Can Be Used to Void a Contract

Business ContractsIn an earlier blog, we looked at the requirements for a valid and enforceable contract. We discussed the requirement that both parties must have the ability (or capacity) to enter into a contract. We said that the subject matter of the agreement must be legal, and the both parties must have voluntarily agreed to the terms. In this article, we look at some of the arguments you can raise to challenge the validity of an agreement.

Mistake

Suppose that you enter into an agreement to purchase “the Picasso painting.” The terms are no more specific than that. You believe it’s “The Old Guitarist,” but the seller insists it’s a lesser-known painting from earlier in Picasso’s career. Provided there’s no evidence that the disagreement is the result of an intentional act (it would then be misrepresentation/fraud), the mistake may be sufficient to void the contract. It must relate to a material element of the contract, and it must have had a significant impact on the bargaining process.

Impossibility

Occasionally, circumstances change after you enter onto an agreement, making it extremely difficult, expensive or even impossible to perform as agreed upon. For example, you may enter into a contract to purchase 10,000 widgets from a supplier, only to have the supplier’s factory burn down a week before delivery. Even if your supplier can still deliver in a timely manner, if it will be unreasonably expensive for them to do so, the court may determine the contract is unenforceable.

Unconscionability

Though parties are generally given great latitude when entering into a contract, even to the point where one party may make a horribly bad deal, there are situations where the court may step in and find the agreement to be unenforceable due to unfairness. The application of this principle is typically limited to instances where one side had most or all of the bargaining power, or where one party had problems (due to language barriers, for example) understanding the terms of the agreement.

Contact Us

At MCIS Law, PLLC, in Stafford, we aggressively advocate for businesses and individuals in southeast Texas. For a confidential consultation with an experienced and knowledgeable lawyer, email us or call our office at (346) 297-0121. We accept all major credit cards.

Filed Under: Business Contracts, Business Law

Request A Consultation

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Disclaimer

Archives

  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018

Contact us

MCIS Law,PLLC

Address:

10701 Corporate Dr. Ste 340-104,
Stafford, TX 77477

Phone:

(346) 297-0121

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Linkedin

Request A Consultation

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Practice Area Overview
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
footer-logo

© 2021 MCIS Law, PLLC All Rights Reserved.
Sitemap | Disclaimer