When parties enter into a contract here in Illinois or elsewhere, the possibility always remains that a dispute will arise regarding the products or services or the payment for them. If that happened to you, and the other party accuses you of breaching the contract you entered into, you retain the right to defend yourself. There are viable defenses to this type of business litigation.
Perhaps you intended to fulfill your part of the contract, but discovered that the other party defrauded you in some way. Had you known the facts, you may never have entered into the contract. Perhaps a material mistake was made in the contract. Both parties agreed to a certain delivery date, but it was incorrectly inputted into the contract.
In the alternative, perhaps the other party knew that a material mistake was contained in the contract, but failed to tell you in order to induce you to sign the contract. It is possible that you settled the matter with the other party at one point, but now, the other party wants to take you to court for the original consideration you were to provide in the contract. If you can show the court “accord and satisfaction,” then the court will more than likely not allow the other party to seek payment or performance under the original conditions of the contract.
As you can see, the party initially accused of breaching a contract may not have breached it at all. Whether by circumstance, mistake or fraud, the other party may actually be at fault for the current situation. If this is the case, then the business litigation could ultimately end in your favor. You may benefit from discussing it with an Illinois attorney to determine what legal options you have with regard to your predicament.
Source: jec.unm.edu, “Defenses to Breach of Contract“, Accessed on Sept. 24, 2017
