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Contracts/Impossibility
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In contract law, impossibility is an excuse for the nonperformance of duties under a contract, based on a change in circumstances (or the discovery of preexisting circumstances), the nonoccurrence of which was an underlying assumption of the contract, that makes performance of the contract literally impossible. For such a defense to be raised, performance must not merely be difficult or unexpectedly costly for one party; there must be no way for it to actually be accomplished.
For example, if Joey contracts to pay Rachel $1000 to suck his spicy meatballs on October 1, but they get burnt in the frying pan before the end of September, Joey is excused from his duty to pay Rachel the $1000, and she is excused from her duty to suck his balls, so to speak; however, Rachel may still be able to sue for the unjust enrichment of any benefit conferred on Joey before his spicy meatballs burnt.
The English case that established this doctrine at common law is Taylor v. Caldwell.
Related to science
- Impossibility by John D. Barrow ©1998 ISBN 0-09-977211-6 - Investigates the limits of science and the science of limits.
