Blogs

The term “separate legal entity” is a fundamental concept in law that underlies business law and legal liability.

Not getting it right means that you could:

1. sign contracts which make you personally liable on the contract, when you don’t intend to
2. sign a contract with a non-existent legal entity, and make the contract unenforceable
3. sign a contract with the wrong company within a group of companies
4. sign a contract as the company, when you intend to sign as a shareholder.

And it’s all avoidable.

Here’s how.

Everyone’s nervous the first time few times they represent themselves in court.

Preparation goes an awful long way to a better court appearance.

It takes a lot of work to have a good day in court.

Here a few tips to tell you what to expect, and what to do prepare yourself for your day in court.

Sometimes, what’s not in a contract is more important than what is.

You read a contract. Reading only the express terms, you might not get the full story.

There may be implied terms.

Terms implied into contracts can change what you’re reading. They can re-balance one-sided business agreements. They can address behaviour that frustrates performance of the contract.

In fact, implied terms can put you – or your contracting partner – in serious breach of contract.

The law takes legally binding contracts seriously.

It’s difficult to escape liability for performance, even when something happens that makes it difficult, more expensive or onerous to perform.

Whether a contract has been frustrated or not can mean the difference between:

1. a claim for serious breach of contract, or
2. relief from performance of the contract.

What is Frustration of a Contract?

Frustration of contract is the general law’s method of allowing parties to be relieved of their legal obligations.