When a contract goes wrong

Types of dispute

If no written contract has been signed, the likelihood of disputes arising is considerably increased and these are often the hardest disputes to resolve. Where there is a written contract, disputes tend to fall into three categories, although the distinction is often blurred.

Not in the contract

Where disputes arise over matters not dealt with at all in the contract, eg where the parties did not think to deal with a particular issue, it will usually be necessary to reach agreement on the issue in question and then embody this in a signed contract or letter, to avoid future argument.

Different interpretation

In disputes over interpretation or meaning of words it may be necessary to take expert advice from a solicitor on the proper meaning of the contract provisions. Disputes of this kind most commonly occur when no solicitor was involved in drawing up the original contract. If the solicitor doubts your interpretation, you would usually be best advised to compromise, since there is rarely much sense in taking the risk of court action over the meaning of words.

Breach of contract

Most disputes are caused by breach of contract - where one party maintains that the other has ignored the terms of the contract, for instance by not paying a fee on time. Commonly this leads to the other party failing to comply with his/her obligations, under a 'tit-for-tat' arrangement, thus the dispute escalates.

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