Types of Contract Breach 101
Every small business understands the importance of each of their contracts, even more so than large corporations. A business’s lifeblood is the contracts they fill – a contract being a valid, legal and binding promise struck between two or more parties to give/receive services in exchange for something of value, some “consideration”. The failure to fulfill obligations under the contract is known as a breach. But if you find yourself questioning if the situation you find yourself in DOES constitute an actual contract breach, it can help to understand that there are different types, or levels of contract breach. And there are different ways to cure the breach, depending on the circumstances in play.
It is important to understand your contracts. No business wants to inadvertently breach their agreements and open themselves up to litigation. Likewise, every small business will understand the importance of their contracts being honored. Understanding the various types of breaches, and what might be done in these circumstances can make a big difference for smaller businesses in a fluctuating economy.
The specifics of your own case matter tremendously, and this is particularly true in matters involving contracts. This article will provide some general information regarding contracts, but it is equally important to understand the details dictated in your own contractual documents. Those will guide your own case as much as the law will. For experienced guidance tailored to your own circumstances, contact an experienced business litigation attorney at Suncoast Civil Law.
4 Main Types of Contractual Breaches
Every contract is unique, with its own complexities and various ways that breach could occur. However, the breach of a valid contract will generally lead to legal recourse in order to address the breach.
Four typical ways a contract might be breached include:
- Minor breach: Also commonly referred to as a partial breach. A minor or partial breach is when a small part of the contract has been breached, but the contract as a whole retains most of the elements and has not been breached. For a breach to be considered partial or minor the breach must be insignificant enough that the contractual parties can still meet the remaining contractual requirements.
It is impossible to definitively prescribe what constitutes a “minor” breach. What is minor in one contract might be a major conflict and source of breach in another contract. For example, let’s say that a wedding photographer was hired to provide photography for a wedding. The contract also included providing engagement photos as well as a photoshoot of just the bride in her wedding dress before the wedding date. The photographer takes the engagement photos, but becomes severely ill and cannot conduct the bridal photos before the wedding date. The photographer does recover to take the photos of the wedding day itself.
Is this a minor breach? A major breach? Well, most of the tenets of the contract have been fulfilled; two out of three of the contracted sessions were completed. But what about the third? Because the contract was to have these photos done before the wedding date, failure to act in accordance with the contract would be considered a breach, but probably a minor one. A court would likely not see it as just or fair to cancel the entire contract, as a majority of the promised work was conducted. And in this case, a cure likely exists for the breach. The bridal photos could be conducted after the wedding date, and/or partial payment for the work that was done could be provided.
- Material breach: Material breaches are the most serious; these are actions (or inaction) so significant that the non-breaching side essentially does not receive the benefit of the agreement. This allows the non-breaching party to pursue legal action against the breaching party to be made whole.
It is important to understand that courts are generally not interested in awarding punitive damages in contract cases; they simply want to see the parties made whole.
- Anticipatory breach. This occurs when one party knows that the other party will not or cannot fulfill the terms of the contract on time. In the wedding photographer example above, this might look like the photographer telling the bride before the wedding that she will be traveling internationally and not in the area the day of the event.
- Fundamental breach. Similar to a material breach, a fundamental breach occurs when one party to the contract so fundamentally fails in their duties that the other party cannot complete their part of the contract. Here, the non-breaching party can sue for damages.
Contact Suncoast Civil Law
The ability to successfully pursue damages in a breach of contract case depends on the circumstances of the breach and the details of the contract. An experienced Sarasota business litigation attorney at Suncoast Civil Law can help you analyze the law and details of your own case. Contact our office today to begin speaking with our team.
Sources:
floridabar.org/public/consumer/tip012/
bizjournals.com/southflorida/news/2025/09/05/steel-horse-jewelry-bankruptcy-coral-springs.html