Breach of Contract

[Scott12345]

Jurisdiction

Wisconsin

If a contract was drawn up and signed, and there was a breach of contract that caused the broacher to owe 500$ but no timeline, would the broacher be obligated to pay immediately upon breaching? or would the broacher be able to set the timeline?

 

[zddoodah]

there was a breach of contract that caused the broacher to owe 500$ but no timeline

Please explain what this means (also note that "broacher" is not the right word).

would the broacher be obligated to pay immediately upon breaching?

If a party breaches a contract, that party may be liable to the non-breaching party for any damages that the non-breaching party suffers on account of the breach. Unless you provide a better explanation regarding the nature of the contract and the circumstances of the breach, that's about all anyone will be able to tell you.

I suggest you approach it like this: Dave entered into a contract with ABC Company. The terms of the contract were that Dave would do ____, and, in consideration of Dave doing that, ABC would pay Dave. The contract provided that ABC would make payment within X days after Dave's completion of ____ (or, The contract did not provide when payment would be made). Etc., etc.

or would the broacher be able to set the timeline?

I don't know what you mean by "timeline."

 

[Scott12345]

Please explain what this means (also note that "broacher" is not the right word).

Sorry, meant the person that broke the agreement, incurring the 500$ penalty.

If a party breaches a contract, that party may be liable to the non-breaching party for any damages that the non-breaching party suffers on account of the breach. Unless you provide a better explanation regarding the nature of the contract and the circumstances of the breach, that's about all anyone will be able to tell you.

The contract was for childcare and in the contract it was stated that if the person providing the childcare left without warning, there would be a penalty (as well as vise versa for the parents of the child needing the care)

I suggest you approach it like this: Dave entered into a contract with ABC Company. The terms of the contract were that Dave would do ____, and, in consideration of Dave doing that, ABC would pay Dave. The contract provided that ABC would make payment within X days after Dave's completion of ____ (or, The contract did not provide when payment would be made). Etc., etc.

Hannah entered a contract with the parents of the child to provide childcare. Under the terms of the contract Hannah would give ample notice before resigning from the childcare position. If ample notice was not given, and the contract was breached by resignation without notice, Hannah would incur a 500$ fee owed to the parents (for days missed of work in order to find a new care provider). There was no specified timeline provided within the body of the contract as to the length of time the 500$ was to be paid back over

I don't know what you mean by "timeline."

Length of time as to which the 500$ fine was to be paid back.

 

[Scott12345]

Please explain what this means (also note that "broacher" is not the right word).



If a party breaches a contract, that party may be liable to the non-breaching party for any damages that the non-breaching party suffers on account of the breach. Unless you provide a better explanation regarding the nature of the contract and the circumstances of the breach, that's about all anyone will be able to tell you.

I suggest you approach it like this: Dave entered into a contract with ABC Company. The terms of the contract were that Dave would do ____, and, in consideration of Dave doing that, ABC would pay Dave. The contract provided that ABC would make payment within X days after Dave's completion of ____ (or, The contract did not provide when payment would be made). Etc., etc.



I don't know what you mean by "timeline."

Sorry, new to this...
I meant the person that broke the agreement, incurring the 500$ penalty.

The contract was for childcare and in the contract it was stated that if the person providing the childcare left without warning, there would be a penalty (as well as vise versa for the parents of the child needing the care)

Hannah entered a contract with the parents of the child to provide childcare. Under the terms of the contract Hannah would give ample notice before resigning from the childcare position. If ample notice was not given, and the contract was breached by resignation without notice, Hannah would incur a 500$ fee owed to the parents (for days missed of work in order to find a new care provider). There was no specified timeline provided within the body of the contract as to the length of time the 500$ was to be paid back over

Length of time as to which the 500$ fine was to be paid back.

 

[adjusterjack]

The penalty for a breach is due when the breach occurs. The amount of time it takes to collect is something else. Even if the contract gives a deadline for payment, the breaching party could breach that part of the agreement as well. Even if you sued and got a judgment, the breaching party could just ignore it.

The "timeline" for payment is whatever amount of time it takes you to collect using whatever collection methods are appropriate.

In a sense, the breaching party does control the timeline for payment and, theoretically, can stretch it out as long as possible, maybe even forever if the judgment is uncollectible.

 

[zddoodah]

What you've described sounds like an unenforceable liquidated damages provision.

In contract law, a breach that results in actual damage to the non-breaching party can be remedied by the payment of money. In fact, the existence of damages resulting from the breach is a prerequisite to a lawsuit for breach of contract.

For example, let's say that Sue hires Bob to paint her house in exchange for payment of $2,000. Bob does about 2/3 of the work and then walks off the job. At the time Bob abandoned the job, Sue had paid him $1,000. Sue seeks another painter to finish the job but discovers that she cannot find anyone to do the remaining work for less than $1,500. In addition, she learns that some of Bob's work was defective and will cost an additional $500 to correct. Accordingly, Sue will have to pay a total of $3,000 to get her house painted. Because she had a contract for Bob to do the work for $2,000, her damages are $1,000.

Liquidated damages are damages that are fixed at the time of the making of a contract. The intent is to cover situations in which ascertaining actual damages resulting from a breach would be difficult, impossible or impractical. I don't know the specifics of Wisconsin law on LDs, but it is generally the case that either actual damages must actually be difficult or impossible to determine, or it is reasonably believed at the time of contracting that actual damages will be difficult or impossible to calculate.

In the situation you described, there is no reason to believe that actual damages would result at all, much less that they'd be difficult or impossible to determine.

If you are one of the parents and you want Hannah to pay the $500 and she won't do it, you'll need to sue her in small claims court. Small claims court is (or is supposed to be) simple and inexpensive, but I'd be very doubtful about your likelihood of success.

 

[army judge]

If a contract was drawn up and signed, and there was a breach of contract that caused the broacher to owe 500$ but no timeline, would the broacher be obligated to pay immediately upon breaching? or would the broacher be able to set the timeline?

What you THINK is a contract may be nothing more than nonsense.

First of all, WHO determines the "reasonableness" of the notice?

Based on what you've revealed, that bit of undefined confusion would doom the contract to gobbledygook.

Furthermore, is the provision even enforceable because its not defined?

Slavery has long been abolished in this country.

The caretaker could suddenly be killed or die of Covid.
In such a case, no notice could be given, reasonable or not.

What if the caregiver had a family emergency that required her/him to travel to France for six months?

What if the caretaker was arrested?
What if the caretaker was Kidnapped?
What if the caretaker's condo building collapsed, trapping her/him under tons of rubble?
What if a terrorist invaded a mall and held her/him hostage along with 500 others?

I suggest you engage the services of a childcare facility, if you desire more certainty and continuity of childcare.

Even then, the childcare center could be shuttered because of fire, natural disaster, or other facility failures.

 

[Scott12345]

The penalty for a breach is due when the breach occurs. The amount of time it takes to collect is something else. Even if the contract gives a deadline for payment, the breaching party could breach that part of the agreement as well. Even if you sued and got a judgment, the breaching party could just ignore it.

The "timeline" for payment is whatever amount of time it takes you to collect using whatever collection methods are appropriate.

In a sense, the breaching party does control the timeline for payment and, theoretically, can stretch it out as long as possible, maybe even forever if the judgment is uncollectible.

Thank you for your help! We have all the information we need now.

 

[Scott12345]

What you've described sounds like an unenforceable liquidated damages provision.

In contract law, a breach that results in actual damage to the non-breaching party can be remedied by the payment of money. In fact, the existence of damages resulting from the breach is a prerequisite to a lawsuit for breach of contract.

For example, let's say that Sue hires Bob to paint her house in exchange for payment of $2,000. Bob does about 2/3 of the work and then walks off the job. At the time Bob abandoned the job, Sue had paid him $1,000. Sue seeks another painter to finish the job but discovers that she cannot find anyone to do the remaining work for less than $1,500. In addition, she learns that some of Bob's work was defective and will cost an additional $500 to correct. Accordingly, Sue will have to pay a total of $3,000 to get her house painted. Because she had a contract for Bob to do the work for $2,000, her damages are $1,000.

Liquidated damages are damages that are fixed at the time of the making of a contract. The intent is to cover situations in which ascertaining actual damages resulting from a breach would be difficult, impossible or impractical. I don't know the specifics of Wisconsin law on LDs, but it is generally the case that either actual damages must actually be difficult or impossible to determine, or it is reasonably believed at the time of contracting that actual damages will be difficult or impossible to calculate.

In the situation you described, there is no reason to believe that actual damages would result at all, much less that they'd be difficult or impossible to determine.

If you are one of the parents and you want Hannah to pay the $500 and she won't do it, you'll need to sue her in small claims court. Small claims court is (or is supposed to be) simple and inexpensive, but I'd be very doubtful about your likelihood of success.

Thank you for your help! We have all the information we need now.