This doctrine addresses scenarios where an obligation becomes objectively unachievable due to unforeseen events, rather than a party’s simple refusal or inability to pay. Destruction of the Subject Matter The most straightforward scenario occurs when the specific subject matter of the contract is destroyed.
Lease Frustration and the Impossibility of Performance: Understanding a Purpose Event
However, this does not automatically equate to a refund for payments already made. The resolution often involves complex calculations of restitution and mitigation.
The Distinction from Force Majeure While often discussed alongside force majeure clauses, legal impossibility operates independently within the common law framework. For a party to invoke this defense, the performance must be genuinely impossible, not merely burdensome or expensive.
Lease Frustration and the Event of Impossibility
For instance, if a seller contracts to deliver a unique piece of artwork, but the artwork is destroyed in a fire before delivery, the contract is objectively impossible to perform. A classic example is a contract to lease a specific venue for an event, only for the venue to be destroyed by a flood.
More About Impossibility of performance of contract
Looking at Impossibility of performance of contract from another angle can help expand the discussion and give readers a second clear paragraph under the same section.
More perspective on Impossibility of performance of contract can make the topic easier to follow by connecting earlier points with a few simple takeaways.
