Contractual Disputes

What happens when there is breach of Contract?

When any of the party signatory to a contract breaches any conditions of the contract or fails to comply with the contractual obligations contained therein this tends to give birth to the contractual disputes. Moreover, the dispute may also be arisen over on many issues pertaining to the interpretation of contracts, the desire to terminate contracts by invalidating them, or the existence of compelling circumstances that require the termination of such contracts or the termination of contracts based upon a breach made by party. Situations wherein the contracts do not include terms and conditions for termination of contract, this may lead to a lengthy dispute between parties as each party only considers their own point of view for the termination without clear evidence or supporting documents other than his own conviction that the other party has breached the contract.

Nour Attorneys Law Firm consist team of breach of contract lawyer which works in a highly professional manner to represent clients in disputes before courts in cases related to contract interpretation, termination, obligation of parties to implement what is contained in them, and the claim of compensation for the breach. It is noteworthy that these types of disputes require the client to make a lot of effort before the dispute even begins to ensure the preservation of his rights and to take appropriate action to ensure a just result in his favor.

Experienced team of breach of contract lawyers at Nour Attorneys Law Firm, represents clients in many disputes relating to the breach of contract and the other legal issues that arising therefrom.

For better understanding of our services here are some examples mentioned below:

Many people sign contracts that do not include terms and conditions regarding termination of contract. Even though that parties think that by doing so they have obtained a guarantee of implementation, sometimes, it becomes a burden on the parties.

Therefore, our law firm best breach of lawyer always advise that there shall be terms and conditions for the termination of the contract, including:

• Inclusions for breach and damage, the perpetrator shall be given a specific period time to remedy the damage or otherwise he shall be liable for default. Therefore, the contract may be terminated and a fine may be imposed if the termination was due to a breach of contract.
• Inclusions of specific terms or conditions for the termination, including the continuation of performing the obligations for a certain period (notice period) until the client finds another party who is capable enough of fulfilling the same obligation. This is done in the interest of client so that the other party not to be able to terminate the contract by merely claiming that there is a breach.
• Inclusion of a condition(s) that enables the client to appoint another party to perform the obligation at the expense of the breaching party in case of its failure to implement or terminate the contract because of the breach. The other party shall also bear the difference in contracting value between the original contract and the cost of contracting with another party to perform the obligation.
• Inclusion of breaches that require the termination of the contract for the purpose of protecting the client from the exploitation of the other party of any breach that can be compensated or remedied as a reason for the termination of the contract.

The circumstances may require not to include all this depending on the client’s position, the nature of the contract, its circumstances, and the nature of the business between the parties.

Many contractual disputes arise due to the disagreement between parties on the interpretation of the contract, especially in the case of ambiguity in the wordings of contract. The dispute is often about a specific contractual obligation and to its extent. Therefore, the judge shall interpret the contract according to the nature of the transaction and the prevailing practices in the contracting transactions locally if the dispute is between two local parties. The regional aspect shall also be taken into consideration if the dispute is between a local party and a party from a neighboring state or globally if the dispute is between a local party and a party outside the neighboring states. In this regard, the judge hires subject-matter experts to determine the nature of local, regional and international practices to balance the rights and obligations of the parties.  Moreover, the judge also review the contract negotiations to verify the parties’ understanding of the point of dispute to see if there is a prior understanding or prior knowledge agreed between the parties on the point in question.

Furthermore, contractual disputes may also arise due to obligations that were not included in the contract. However, one party may argue that is not included in the contract or not of a business nature, you cannot under any circumstances, as a contractor, include the details of every major or minor obligation in the contract. In this regard, the courts, determines by the Civil Code on contracts, after relying upon the fact that obligations recognized as part of custom or professional practice. Such practices are part of the contract even if not mentioned by the parties, for example, contracting works that are not often mentioned in the contract, but are known to be part of the contract. Accordingly, such matters depend on the ability of the parties to indicate whether the obligation that is not mentioned in the contract is part of the contract or not.

Arguing the nullity of the contractual conditions is an important defense in contractual disputes, where one party argues the nullity of the contract based on several reasons that deems appropriate to terminate the contract, knowing that the nullity of the contract does not mean that a party may utilize the benefits received from the other party, as the law requires that the parties be returned to the state they were in before the contract. In such a case, the obligation appears that each party must return any benefits they have obtained or to compensate the other party for them unless   the benefit obtained is no longer usable or if it has been disposed of.   This only applies in cases where the benefit received is something other than money.

It is noteworthy that the reasons for the termination of the contract vary, and the court decisions vary according to the facts and circumstances of each case:

• The Invalidity of the Contract Due to the Lack of Formal Requirements

The law does not require a specific form of contracting. Contracting may be in the form of a contract, mutual consent, providing consent via e-mail, or by exchanging quotations and purchase orders. Yet, in certain types of contracts, the law requires a specific form of contracting. For example, the common form in the United Arab Emirates that it requires for the validity of the sale of shares in companies that a contract must be registered by the Notary Public and licensing authorities. Despite that if the sale of shares contract is signed, without being authenticated, parties may argue that such a contract is invalid since it was not authenticated by the Notary Public or the licensing authorities. Invalidity is often based on the protection of third parties, where the shares of a company may be sold to more than one person and registered to one of them, as well as registration requirements for real estate sales and others. Cases of nullity may arise among the contracting parties against each other or may be exclusively against third parties in accordance with the protection prescribed by law for the client to assume the good faith of the parties. In some cases, the law requires that for a contract to be valid, it shall be in writing and the requirements may vary according to each contract.

• The Invalidity of the Contract for its Violation of Public Order

The contract may be proved to be invalid in case if it violates the public order by containing something that is contrary to the law or public order in the state. The contracting party shall argue the nullity of the contract based on the violation of the public order. Examples of such cases include: a contracting party may design a game that features ridicule of certain religions, a violation of the society values, inappropriate material or incites the use of drugs. In the above examples, the contract is based on something that is contrary to the public order. Therefore, the rule of prudence is may be  the executing party may not receive compensation if the said party is local  and even  international party cannot avail compensation, since there is violation of the public order of  state that is applicable to both the parties irrespective of their nationalities. However, the foreign party outside the state may receive compensation if he proves that this was done in good faith and that he does not know that such materials are criminalized within the state. The decision of such a thing shall be at the discretion of the court. Moreover, interest-based debt contracts between individuals are also considered invalid contracts, as the court shall require the repayment of the debt without the interest or by paying compensation for violating the public order. It is also null and void if the citizen partner waives his minimum share in limited liability companies if such companies are outside the free zones.

• Conditions in law for Invalidity of Contracts

The law specified certain cases in which the contract may be terminated because of the invalidity of contracts. In such cases, the party who claims the termination of the contract shall prove the invalidity of the contract in question.

As the breach of contact cases requires lawyers having high legal acumen and knowledge of law. Therefore, in cases of breach of contracts or challenging its validity, you can always consult our team of experts in this field at Nour Attorneys Law Firm. Our team is made up of highly competent lawyers specialized in breach of contracts who will assist you to know your legal position in Contractual litigation disputes. Therefore, to avail our services kindly contact at Nour Attorneys Law Firm.