Impracticability of Performance

Plain English

Sometimes after you sign a contract, something unexpected happens that makes it nearly impossible to do what you promised—not because you're unwilling, but because the situation has fundamentally changed. Impracticability of performance is a legal defense that may excuse you from fulfilling your obligations if performing would be unreasonably burdensome or costly compared to what the parties originally anticipated. Courts recognize this doctrine because they understand that some events (like natural disasters or government actions) can make performance genuinely impractical, even though it's technically still possible. However, the bar is high: you can't simply claim it's harder or more expensive than you thought.

Example

A construction company contracts to build a shopping center, but a rare geological discovery on the site makes construction impossible without spending ten times the original budget. The company might argue impracticability of performance to be released from the contract, since the unforeseen condition makes the work unreasonably burdensome.

Used in a sentence

“The supplier claimed impracticability of performance when a government embargo made it impossible to obtain the raw materials needed to fulfill the order.”

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