Anticipatory Breach

So, you made an agreement with your bestie to go to a ballgame this weekend and he or she backed out on the deal? Hey hey, Doris Day...don’t get your panties in a bunch. (If you SERIOUSLY don’t know who Doris Day is, you should bow in shame right now. Better yet, hop on one foot, rub your belly, and shout your apologies at the top of your lungs. We’ll be waiting with a YouTube crew to capture the moment.)

Now let’s get to the fun stuff. Anticipatory breach is a massive legal term for flaking. But not in terms of besties.

It means a party to a contract anticipates a breach, either because it has been made clear that the other party does not intend to comply with the contract, or it has been implied that actions or events will affect the contract. In this event, the party that will be harmed can begin the legal process to have the court determine what the rights of the parties are under the contract (lawsuit, baby, an action for declaratory judgement).