Fighting a Breach of Contract Lawsuit in Massachusetts
There are many types of breach of contract disputes in Massachusetts which companies face every day in court. Simple breach of contract can occur when one party to the contract fails to pay for goods or services, or work is defective, or not provided timely. Additionally, sometimes one party will breach a noncompete agreement, or an employee conduct contract. In any of these cases the non-breaching party (the party that did not cause the problem) may sue the breaching party to recover damages. Make no mistake, damages awarded to a plaintiff in Massachusetts can be sizeable. Damages can include money damages, money damages from a liquidated damage clause, or even the cancellation of the contract.
A strong attorney in your corner might mean the difference between settling out of court for a reasonable sum of money or proceeding to court for the best possible outcome, or in the alternative, losing large sums of money in court (obviously to be avoided).
DEFENSES:
Many defenses exist for businesses in Massachusetts which may be used to avoid massive liability if successful. Namely, the statute of limitations for filing a claim may have passed, making the claim eligible for dismissal in the courts. Performance under the contract may be impossible due to a fundamental understanding regarding the contract which is no longer in existence and where no party to the contract was the cause of the breach. Or, continuing performance of the contract may have become impracticable where the continuation of performance under the contract is beyond the contract’s scope.
Other defenses include an illegal purpose inherent in the contract which makes the contract void. Possibly, the statute of frauds may be implicated where the contract was never properly executed, for example, where a necessary party to the contract did not sign the contract.
Having a strong attorney to assist with breach of contract actions in Massachusetts may mean that your business can avoid paying out large cash damage awards as the defendant, or losing money or product to a breaching defendant, as the plaintiff.
Read similar articles below:
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Breach of Contract in Massachusetts
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