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52-431: An allocution , or allocutus , is a formal statement made to a court by the defendant who has been found guilty before being sentenced. It is part of the criminal procedure in some jurisdictions using common law . An allocution allows the defendant to explain why the sentence should be lenient. In plea bargains , an allocution may be required of the defendant. The defendant explicitly admits specifically and in detail

104-494: A breach of contract , for instance). The person who starts the civil action through filing a complaint is referred to as the plaintiff (also known as the appellant). Defendants in civil actions usually make their first court appearance voluntarily in response to a summons. Historically, civil defendants could be taken into custody under a writ of capias ad respondendum . Modern-day civil defendants are usually able to avoid most (if not all) court appearances if represented by

156-653: A condition or a warranty . Any breach of contract (warranty, condition or innominate term) gives rise to a right in the hands of the innocent party to recover their damage suffered which caused by the breach of contract by the defaulting party. Damages in the UK are the only remedy available for breach of a warranty. Those damages can come in different forms such as an award of monetary damages, liquidation damages, specific performances, rescission , and restitution . Damages are classified as being compensatory or punitive. Compensatory damages are rewarded in an attempt to make place

208-442: A lawyer . Most often and familiarly, defendants are persons: either natural persons (actual human beings) or juridical persons ( persona fiction ) under the legal fiction of treating organizations as persons. But a defendant may be an object, in which case the object itself is the direct subject of the action. When a court has jurisdiction over an object, it is said to have jurisdiction in rem . An example of an in rem case

260-423: A plea in mitigation (also called submissions on penalty ) in an attempt to mitigate the relative seriousness of the offense, and heavily refer to and rely upon the defendant's previous good character and good works, if any. The right to make a plea in mitigation is absolute: if a judge or magistrate refuses to hear such a plea or does not properly consider it, the sentence can be overturned on appeal. In most of

312-453: A 1990 commercial retail lease case noted that "the overwhelming majority of [US] jurisdictions... hold the landlord's right to terminate is not unlimited. We believe a court's decision to permit termination must be tempered by notions of equity and common sense. We thus hold a forfeiture for a trivial or immaterial breach of a commercial lease should not be enforced." In Rice (t/a The Garden Guardian) v Great Yarmouth Borough Council (2000),

364-409: A breach of an agreement is "material" must depend upon all the facts of the particular case, including the terms and duration of the agreement in question, the nature of the breach, and the consequences of the breach. when judging what the parties meant when they referred to a breach having to be "material" and "remediable" ( sic ) it seems to me that they must have had in mind, at least to some extent,

416-400: A contract specifies time is of the essence or otherwise contains an express or implied term that times for performance are critical, stipulations as to time will be conditions of the contract. Accordingly, if a party fails to meet a meet the time stipulations, it will be a breach of a condition of the contract, entitling the innocent party to terminate. Breach of a condition of a contract

468-416: A contractual or statutory provision, any breach of contract is categorized: There is no "internal rating system" within each of these categories (such as "a serious breach of warranty"). Any breach of contract is of a breach of warranty, condition or innominate term. In terms of priority of classification of these terms, a term of a contract is an innominate term unless it is clear that it is intended to be

520-409: A court under an arrest warrant . Criminal defendants are usually obliged to post bail before being released from custody. For serious cases, such as murder, bail may be refused. Defendants must be present at every stage of the proceedings against them. (There is an exception for very minor cases such as traffic offenses in jurisdictions which treat them as crimes.) If more than one person is accused,

572-447: A cure period may not be available where the innocent party chooses to accept a repudiatory breach and therefore exercise its common law rather than its contractual rights. Fundamental breach of contract is no longer the test for a serious breach of contract to justify termination. The test is that set out for repudiatory breach, above. The concept of fundamental breach as a free standing legal concept no longer has any legal force but

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624-601: A manner which is inconsistent with the terms of the contract also shows an intention not to perform the contract. Whether such conduct is so severe so as to amount to a renunciatory breached depends upon whether the threatened difference in performance is repudiatory. An intention to perform connotes a willingness to perform, but willingness in this context does not mean a desire to perform despite an inability to do so. To say "I would like to but I cannot" negatives intent just as much as "I will not". Contracting parties must perform contracts in strict accordance with their terms: what

676-436: A material breach: In determining whether a failure to render or to offer performance is material, the following circumstances are significant: Renunciatory breach (usually referred to as anticipatory breach or breach by anticipatory repudiation ) is an unequivocal indication that the party will not perform when performance falls due or a situation in which future non-performance is inevitable. An anticipatory breach gives

728-479: A repudiation. However: The reason for a defaulting party committing an actual breach is generally irrelevant to whether it constitutes a breach, or whether the breach is a repudiation (this is an incident of strict liability for the performance of contractual obligations). However, the reason may be highly relevant to what such breach would lead the reasonable observer to conclude about the defaulting party's intentions in relation to future performance and therefore to

780-484: A repudiatory breach. Simply because a term in a contract is stated by the parties to be a condition does not necessarily make it so. Such statements though are one of the factors taken into account to decide whether it is a condition or warranty of the contract. Other than where the colour of the pipes went to the root of the contract (suppose the pipes were to be used in a room dedicated to artwork related to plumbing, or dedicated to high fashion), it would more than likely be

832-517: A term is a warranty or a condition of the contract. In respect to the EPC Agreements, material breach is defined as "shall mean a breach by either Party of any of its obligations under this Agreement which has or is likely to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Project and which such Party shall have failed to cure". Other UK cases which relate to the concept of a material breach include: Whether

884-404: A warranty, not a condition. The general rule is that stipulations as to time in a contract are not conditions of the contract (there are exceptions, such as in shipping contracts; it depends in part upon the commercial importance of timely delivery in all the circumstances of the case). As such, missing a date for performance stipulated in a contract is usually a breach of warranty. However, when

936-618: Is United States v. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola (1916), where the defendant was not the Coca-Cola Company itself, but rather "Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola". In current United States legal practice, in rem suits are primarily asset forfeiture cases, based on drug laws, as in USA v. $ 124,700 (2006). Defendants can set up an account to pay for litigation costs and legal expenses . These legal defense funds can have large membership counts where members contribute to

988-418: Is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong , in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance. Breach occurs when a party to a contract fails to fulfill its obligation(s), whether partially or wholly, as described in the contract, or communicates an intent to fail

1040-637: Is actual failure to perform the contract as and when specified constitutes the first and most obvious type of breach. A contract lays down what must be done, what cannot be done, and when it must be done. If what was prescribed has not been done within the stipulated or reasonable period, there has been a breach of contract. A further form of breach of contract is conduct indicating an unwillingness or inability to perform an obligation arising from that contract. As noted by Seddon et al, these forms of breach of contract overlap, and an actual failure to perform may manifest an unwillingness or inability to perform. This

1092-602: Is known as a repudiatory breach . Again, a repudiatory breach entitles the innocent party at common law to (1) terminate the contract, and (2) claim damages. No other type of breach except a repudiatory breach is sufficiently serious to permit the innocent party to terminate the contract for breach. Contracts often use wording other than repudiatory breach to describe a type of breach of contract. These contractual terms include material breach , fundamental breach , substantial breach , serious breach . These alternative wordings have no fixed meaning in law but are interpreted within

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1144-412: Is more than trivial, but need not be repudiatory" and confirmed as meaning "a breach which is substantial. The breach must be a serious matter, rather than a matter of little consequence." A breach of contract will likely constitute a material breach if the term of the contract which has been breached is a condition of the contract. A variety of tests may be applied to terms of contracts to decide whether

1196-412: Is not always the case: an individual may fail to perform a contractual obligation even when willing or able. These classifications describe only how a contract can be breached, not how serious the breach is. A judge will make a decision on whether a contract was breached based on the claims of both parties. The first type above is an actual breach of contract. The two other types are breaches as to

1248-494: Is now simply another possible term of a contract that needs to be construed like any other term of a contract. A fundamental breach is usually read as a reference to a repudiatory breach. A term may be a condition in Australian law if it satisfies one test known as the test of essentiality. The test of essentiality requires that the promise (term) was of such importance to the promisee that he or she would not have entered into

1300-410: Is the difference in value between red pipe and blue pipe. Since the color of a pipe does not affect its function, the difference in value is zero. Therefore, no damages have been incurred and the homeowner would receive nothing (see Jacob & Youngs v. Kent .) However, had the pipe color been specified in the agreement as a condition , a breach of that condition may well constitute a "major"—i.e.

1352-480: The UK Court of Appeal decided that a clause which provided that the contract could be terminated "if the contractor commits a breach of any of its obligations under the contract" should not be given its literal meaning : it was considered "contrary to business common sense" to allow any breach at all, however trivial, to create grounds for termination. A material breach has been held to mean "a breach of contract which

1404-478: The United States, defendants are allowed the opportunity to allocute before a sentence is passed. Some jurisdictions hold that as an absolute right. In its absence, a sentence but not the conviction may be overturned, resulting in the need for a new sentencing hearing. In the federal system, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure 32(i)(4) provides that the court must "address the defendant personally in order to permit

1456-428: The actions and their reasons in exchange for a reduced sentence. In principle, that removes any doubt as to the exact nature of the defendant's guilt in the matter. The term allocution is used generally only in jurisdictions in the United States, but there are vaguely similar processes in other common law countries . In many other jurisdictions, it is for the defense lawyer to mitigate on their client's behalf, and

1508-461: The commercial consequences of the breach. A party in breach of contract may have the right to remedy their breach, for example if the breach itself is remediable and a provision for remedy or a time period for exercising such as right is included within the contract. In the case of Vinergy International (PVT) Ltd v Richmond Mercantile Limited FZC (2016), a clause within the contract between the disputing parties stated that "failure ... to observe any of

1560-426: The context of the contract that they are used. For that reason, the meaning of the different terms varies from case to case. Possible interpretations of their meaning include "repudiatory breach", and "serious breach, but not as serious as a repudiatory breach". A trivial breach is one that does not meet the standard for designation as a material, serious or substantial breach. An Arizona Supreme Court decision in

1612-411: The contract without the assurance of strict or substantial performance of the promise, and that ought to have been apparent to the promisor. This is an objective test of the parties' intention at the time of formation of the contract. If the contractor in the above example had been instructed to use copper pipes but instead used iron pipes that would not last as long as the copper pipes would have lasted,

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1664-452: The contract. The innocent party cannot sue the party in default for specific performance : only damages . Injunctions (specific performance is a type of injunction) to restrain further breach of a warranty are likely to be refused on the basis that (1) injunctions are a discretionary remedy, and (2) damages are an adequate remedy in the circumstances of the case. Suppose a homeowner hires a contractor to install new plumbing and insists that

1716-419: The courts, but cases where the award of such damages has been considered and agreed include Jarvis v Swans Tours Ltd (1972) and Farley v Skinner (2001). A right to terminate a contract arises for: An innocent party is therefore entitled to elect to terminate a contract only for breach of a condition of the contract, repudiatory breach or renunciatory breach. To terminate a contract for repudiatory breach,

1768-407: The defaulting party is told that a repudiatory breach has been "accepted" that the contract is terminated. If the defaulting party is not told the repudiatory breach has been accepted, the contract continues in force. An innocent party is not compelled to exercise its right to terminate, and accept a repudiatory breach. Otherwise, the contract continues in force. Conduct is repudiatory if it deprives

1820-522: The defendant rarely has the opportunity to speak. In Australia, the term allocutus is used by the Clerk of Arraigns or another formal associate of the court. It is generally phrased as: "Prisoner at the Bar, you have been found Guilty by a jury of your peers of the offence of XYZ. Do you have anything to say as to why the sentence of this Court should not now be passed upon you?" The defense counsel will then make

1872-409: The defendant to speak or present any information to mitigate the sentence". The Federal Public Defender recommends that defendants speak in terms of how a lenient sentence will be sufficient but not greater than necessary to comply with the statutory directives set forth in 18 U.S.C.   § 3553(a) . Defendant Terminology varies from one jurisdiction to another. In Scots law ,

1924-426: The fund. The fund can be public or private and is set up for individuals, organizations, or a particular purpose. These funds are often used by public officials, civil-rights organizations, and public-interest organizations. Historically , "defendant" was a legal term for a person prosecuted for misdemeanour . It was not applicable to a person prosecuted for felony . Breach of contract Breach of contract

1976-401: The future performance of the contract and are technically known as renunciatory breaches. The defaulting party renunciates the contract in advance of when it is required to performs its obligations. Renunciatory breach is more commonly known as "anticipatory breach." The general law has three categories of breaches of contract, which measure of the seriousness of the breach. In the absence of

2028-481: The homeowner can recover the cost of actually correcting the breach by taking out the iron pipes and replacing them with copper pipes. There are exceptions. Legal scholars and courts have been known to find that the owner of a house whose pipes are not the specified grade or quality (a typical hypothetical example) cannot recover the cost of replacing the pipes for the following reasons: Most homeowners would be unable to collect damages that compensate them for replacing

2080-433: The innocent party in the position that would have been occupied "but for" the breach. Those damages are most often awarded as payments. Punitive damages are given to "punish or make an example of a wrongdoer who has acted willfully, maliciously or fraudulently". Punitive damages are awarded only in extreme cases and usually along with compensatory damages. Damages for distress or disappointment are not generally allowed by

2132-406: The innocent party must tell the defaulting party. Many commercial contracts include clauses that set out a process whereby notice must be given and in what form. Consequently, if there is a written contract, care should be taken to check the contract terms and to ensure compliance notwithstanding that the other party may, on the face of it, have committed a clear and repudiatory breach. It is only when

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2184-399: The innocent party of substantially the whole of the benefit intended to be received as consideration for performance of its future obligations under the contract. Different forms of words are used by courts to express this central concept. The most prominent is whether the breach goes to the root of the contract . Those forms of words are simply different ways of expressing the "substantially

2236-433: The innocent party the option to terminate the contract immediately and sue for damages or to wait for the time of performance. If the party required to perform does not do so when it is required by the contract, the innocent party can terminate then. For example, A contracts with B on January 1 to sell 500 quintals of wheat and to deliver it on May 1. Subsequently, on April 15, A writes to B and says that he will not deliver

2288-418: The issue of renunciation. Often, the question whether conduct is a renunciation falls to be judged by reference to the defaulting party's intention, which is objectively evinced by past breaches and other words and conduct. A breach of a warranty of a contract creates a right to damages for the loss suffered, which was caused by the breach. These "minor" breaches do not entitle the innocent party to terminate

2340-449: The obligation or otherwise appears not to be able to perform its obligation under the contract. Where there is breach of contract, the resulting damages have to be paid to the aggrieved party by the party breaching the contract. If a contract is rescinded, parties are legally allowed to undo the work unless doing so would directly charge the other party at that exact time. There exists two elementary forms of breach of contract. The first

2392-455: The people may be referred as "co-defendant" or "co-conspirator" in British and common law courts. In some jurisdictions, vulnerable defendants may be able to get access of services of a non-registered intermediary to assist with communication at court. In a civil lawsuit , a defendant (or a respondent) is also the accused party , although not of an offense, but of a civil wrong (a tort or

2444-460: The pipes but would be awarded damages that compensate them for the loss of value in the house. For example, if the house is worth $ 125,000 with copper and $ 120,000 with iron pipes, the homeowner would be able to collect the $ 5,000 difference and nothing more. In the United States, the Restatement (Second) of Contracts lists the following criteria to determine whether a specific failure constitutes

2496-404: The pipes, which will ultimately be hidden behind the walls, must be red. The contractor instead uses blue pipes that function just as well. Although the contractor breached the literal terms of the contract , the homeowner cannot ask a court to order the contractor to replace the blue pipes with red pipes. The homeowner can only recover the amount of his or her actual damages. In this instance, this

2548-521: The terms " accused " or " panel " are used instead in criminal proceedings and " defender " in civil proceedings. Another term in use is " respondent ". In a criminal trial, a defendant is a person accused ( charged ) of committing an offense (a crime; an act defined as punishable under criminal law ). The other party to a criminal trial is usually a public prosecutor , but in some jurisdictions, private prosecutions are allowed. Criminal defendants are often taken into custody by police and brought before

2600-399: The terms herein and to remedy the same where it is capable of being remedied within the period specified in the notice given by the aggrieved party to the party in default, calling for remedy, being a period not less than twenty (20) days" would constitute grounds for termination of the contract. The period allowed for such a remedy may be referred to as a "cure period". A right to make use of

2652-410: The whole benefit" test. Sometimes the innocent party may be deprived of its entitlement to damages for repudiatory breach of contract: Conduct is renunciatory if it shows an intention to commit a repudiatory breach. The conduct would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the party does not intend to perform its future obligations when they fall due. Showing an intention to perform a contract in

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2704-495: Was agreed in the first instance when the contract was formed. To do otherwise is therefore a breach of contract. In the event of a renunciatory breach, the innocent party may: If the defaulting party does not perform when the time for performance arrives, the contract may be terminated. However, if the defaulting party performs, the right to terminate is lost forever. Conduct comprising a breach for performance of contractual obligations that have fallen due may be insufficient to be

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