Contracts/Anticipatory repudiation

Anticipatory repudiation is a term in the law of contracts that describes a statement by one party (the promissing party) to a contract that they do not intend to live up to their obligations under the contract. Where such an event occurs, the other party (the performing party) to the contract is excused from having to fulfill their obligations. However, the repudiation can be retracted by the promising party so long as there has been no material change in the position of the performing party in the interim. A retraction of the repudiation restores the performer's obligation to perform on the contract.

If the repudiation occurs by the promising party making it impossible to fulfill their promise, then no act by the promising party can restore the performer's obligation to perform on the contract. For example, if A promises to give B a unique sculpture in exchange for B painting A's house, but A then sells the sculpture to C before B completes the job, this act by A constitutes an anticipatory repudiation which excuses B from completing the job. Once the sculpture has left A's possession, there is no way that A can fulfill the promise to give the sculpture to B.