How Do You Prove Breach of Contract in Texas?

Contracts are supposed to hold the parties involved accountable to a business arrangement. When you sign one, you trust that it will be respected. When the terms of that contract are breached, it can be extremely costly and frustrating for those who held their end of the deal. Fortunately, Texas law offers a remedy in these situations in the form of a breach-of-contract suit.

If you’re in the midst of a contract dispute, a Texas breach of contract lawyer can help you prove that the contract was breached and recover fair compensation for your losses. The Grapevine civil litigation attorneys at Hargrave Law have been helping DFW-area residents with contract disputes for more than 20 years. Get a confidential consultation with one of our lawyers by calling us, visiting our contact page, or using our online chat service.

What Makes a Contract Legally Binding?

To make a successful breach-of-contract claim, you must first establish that there was a valid contract. A contract can be written or just spoken, but it must contain these elements:

• An offer by one party
• Acceptance of the offer by the other party, under the assumption that they’ll comply with the terms of the offer
• A meeting of the minds, meaning all parties involved understand the terms of the contract
• Written or oral confirmation that all parties have accepted the contract
• A plan to fulfill the terms of the contract

What Is Breach of Contract?

A contract is said to have been “breached” when one party to the contract fails to fulfill its responsibilities under the contract to the detriment of another party. This is the most common type of breach-of-contract claim, but other situations that could lead to a breach-of-contract case include:

• Someone signing a contract based on misleading or false information, known as material representation of fact
• Someone signing a contract under duress or threat of force
• Someone being unable to fulfill a contract due to situations beyond their control, known as impossibility of performance

How to Prove Breach of Contract

There are four required components for a valid breach-of-contract claim in Texas, which are:

• There must be a valid written or oral contract.
• The plaintiff must have fulfilled the terms of the contract or made a good-faith effort to do so.
• The defendant failed to uphold the terms of the contract.
• The plaintiff suffered harm as a result of the breach.

Remedies for Breach of Contract

Many contracts include the penalties for breaching the contract as part of the agreement. In instances where this is not the case, the plaintiff can seek other compensation for the harm they’ve suffered. This includes:

• Fees and costs – These are expenses associated with the proceedings, such as attorney’s fees, court costs, etc.
• General damages – These are the financial losses that you suffer directly as a result of the contract breach, such as reimbursement for extra costs.
• Special damages – These are other financial losses that are related to but don’t stem directly from the contract breach. For example, if the contract breach indirectly led to reduced profits for your business, you might be entitled to compensation for those lost profits.
• Equitable relief – This refers to other remedies for a breach of contract beyond financial compensation. For example, the courts could revise or revoke the contract or file an injunction against the offending party.

How a Lawyer Could Help

Proving the existence of a valid contract and meeting the other requirements of a breach-of-contract claim can be difficult without help from a lawyer. The team at Hargrave Law can examine the contract, determine if it’s valid, and help you build a solid case against the party that did you wrong. Get a consultation with one of our Bedford breach of contract lawyers by calling (817) 282-0679, filling out our contact form, or using our live chat service.