Explain what do you mean by Express Repudiation

Question

Explain what do you mean by Express Repudiation?

Answer 1

One of the parties to the contract declares that he will not perform under the contract as promised. Such a declaration may occur before (anticipatory breach) or after performance begins. The injured party may treat the contract at an end; find another party to perform, and sue for damages for breach. Alternatively, the injured party may continue to insist on performance and then sue for breach if the other party fails to perform; however, he risks that intervening events might provide the other party with an excuse for non-performance. The advantage of anticipatory breach to the breaching party is that it gives the other party a chance to mitigate his losses if the other party accepts the breach and reserves the right to claim damages. However, if the breach is not accepted, the duty to mitigate does not start until the breach actually occurs. One of the reasons the innocent party might not accept the breach is because he would lose the right to the remedy of specific performance. If repudiation relates only to a minor term of the contract, the other party is not entitled to treat the contract as discharged but will still be entitled to claim damages.