Follow Us
Call 855-808-4530 or email GroupSales@alm.com to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Parties in complex commercial cases that are accused of defaulting on or breaching a contract may invoke the defense of impossibility, arguing that performance of contractual obligations was rendered impossible by an intervening event. Under New York law, those arguments rarely make it past the motion stage. Courts apply the doctrine narrowly, only to executory contracts and only where the intervening event was both unforeseeable and destroyed either the contract’s subject matter or the means of performance. The related doctrine of frustration of purpose may apply more broadly, but only where it would make little sense to perform on a contract because of an intervening event. The narrowness of these doctrines — and their questionable utility for litigators — underscores the importance of striving during the contract drafting process to include contingency clauses providing for foreseeable possibilities and language making clear the contract’s purpose.
What a Difference 3 Months Can Make
By Lisa Brown
The coronavirus has brokers guessing as to how this will affect leasing in the short term, and a report says leasing activity is likely to have a degree of decline in transaction volumes compared to pre-crisis expectations
Coronavirus ‘Brutal’ for Real Estate Transactions as Lenders Hit Brakes on Financing
By Lidia Dinkova
Much like other everyday activities, real estate transactions are coming to a halt because lenders are holding back over the coronavirus pandemic.
The Coronavirus Is Delaying a Construction Project. What Does Your Contract Say?
By Erika Morphy
Construction project delays that could put developers in default of their contracts. Now is the time to re-examine those contracts to see what exactly they have agreed to.
Construction Management Agreements: Pricing
By Kenneth M. Block and Joshua M. Levy
This article covers the pricing of construction management agreements (CMAs), including the fee of the construction manager, general conditions costs, subcontract costs, contingency and insurance. Note: Where appropriate, we will make distinctions between “cost-plus” and guaranteed maximum price (GMP) CMAs.
Copyright © ALM Media Properties, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
