Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Breach of contract definition

What does Breach of contract mean? A breach of contract occurs when a party fails to perform a contractual obligation, performs defectively or late, or indicates it will not perform (anticipatory breach). The concept is chiefly developed in case law, though legislation uses it in specific contexts (for example, the Sale of Goods Acts and consumer rights statutes). Consequences depend on seriousness and the contract terms. Breach of a condition or a repudiatory/material breach allows the innocent party to terminate and claim damages for breach of contract; breach of a warranty gives damages only. For innominate terms, termination depends on whether the breach deprives the...

Drafting statements of case for breach of contract: worked examples (particulars, defence, reply) in a B2B sale of goods dispute—England and Wales

Published by a LexisNexis Dispute Resolution expert

Practice notes

Scope of Practice Note

This Practice Note offers a series of worked illustrations for pleading:

They are set against a hypothetical dispute arising from a contract for the sale and delivery of blinds in a business-to-business setting. Owing to the nature of the claim, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 does not apply (see Practice Note: Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998).

These worked examples are not intended to function as Precedents. They do not encompass every possible claim or defence that might be open on the hypothetical facts and are not presented as ‘the perfect pleading’. Instead, they should be read with the generic statement of case Precedents linked to below and provide practical illustrations of how a hypothetical scenario can be pleaded in sequence-particulars of claim, defence, then reply-so as to assist practitioners in grasping how factual and legal material should be set out in statements of case.

For comprehensive guidance on drafting statements of case, please refer to the following template Precedents:

Particulars of claim-Breach of contract...

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Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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