(b) Conditions
A condition is a fundamental part of the agreement – it is something which goes to the root of the contract. Breach of a condition gives the injured party the right either to terminate the contract and refuse to perform their part of it, or to go through with the agreement and sue for damages. The classic case in relation to breach of condition is Poussard v Spiers & Pond (1876), in which the plaintiff had contracted with the defendants to sing in an opera they were producing. Due to illness she was unable to appear on the first night, or for some nights thereafter. When Mme Poussard recovered, the defendants refused her services as they had hired a replacement for the whole run of the opera. It was held that her failure to appear on the opening night had been a breach of a condition, and the defendants were at liberty to treat the contract as discharged. |
