Excuse of Conditions: Discussions in Contracts

The topic of this podcast by Professor Scott J. Burnham is when a court will excuse satisfaction of a condition to avoid the harsh effects of forfeiture when a condition fails. It also looks at what happens when a court has determined that there is a condition and the failure of the condition might cause […]

The topic of this podcast by Professor Scott J. Burnham is when a court will excuse satisfaction of a condition to avoid the harsh effects of forfeiture when a condition fails. It also looks at what happens when a court has determined that there is a condition and the failure of the condition might cause a hardship. This podcast is related to the discussion of conditions in two other podcasts: Express Conditions and Implied Conditions, and contrasts the court’s application of excuse of conditions with express conditions. The podcast includes an explanation of restitution as it relates to excuse of condition as well as a brief explanation of Clark v. West Publishing Company. The podcast concludes with an explanation of Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 229.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the podcast, the student will be able to:

1. Define a condition.

2. Distinguish between a promise and a condition.

3. Explain the policy reasons courts use to excuse satisfaction of a condition.

4. Provide examples of when a court might look to 1) waiver, 2) divisible contract, 3) restitution, and 4) excuse of condition.

A transcript of this podcast is here.