What are the best defenses to a breach of contract?

There are a number of common reasons why a contract could be unenforceable in a court of law. A party may argue that the contract was missing crucial elements, that it was created for illegal reasons, or that it was created with someone with diminished capacity.

Other strong defenses to a breach of contract claim include:

Duress:

This occurs when one party forces the other party to enter into a contract that they would otherwise not have volunteered to enter into. Duress usually involves threats or blackmail. Simply persuading another party to enter into a contract is not the same as duress or even undue influence, which is like similar to duress but less severe in nature. If a court finds that a contract was entered into under duress they could determine that the contract is not binding.

Fraud:

Fraud occurs when one party intentionally misrepresents a material matter in order to influence another party into acting a certain way. Fraud could also occur if a party intentionally conceals a material fact in order to also influence another party into acting in a particular way. If a court finds that the contract was based on fraud, they may find the contract invalid.

Impossibility:

Sometimes after a contract is created something could happen to make performance of the contract impossible. The circumstances that make contract performance impossible or impractical must not have been foreseen and it also must not be the fault of the party seeking to back out of their obligations.

Unconscionability:

The court may find a contract to be invalid due to unconscionability. This means that the contract is grossly unjust and one-sided to one party and too heavily in favor of the other, stronger party with more bargaining power.

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