A contractor and a homeowner entered into a written agreement for the construction of a custom deck. The contractor began construction but used wood of a lower grade than specified in the contract. The homeowner noticed the issue before construction was completed and demanded that the specified wood grade be used going forward, but the contractor refused, claiming it would be too expensive. The homeowner immediately hired a new contractor to finish the deck and sued the original contractor for breach. Is the original contractor’s actions best characterized as a material breach or a partial breach?
The original contractor’s actions constituted a partial breach because the homeowner was still able to achieve partial performance of the contract with the lower-grade wood.
The original contractor’s actions did not constitute a breach because the contractor substantially complied with the terms of the contract.
The original contractor’s actions constituted a material breach because the contractor’s refusal to cure the defect undermined the contract’s purpose and justified the homeowner’s decision to terminate.
This is a material breach because the contractor’s failure to use the specified wood grade substantially impaired the purpose of the contract—providing a custom deck meeting the homeowner’s expectations. A material breach allows the non-breaching party to treat the contract as terminated and seek damages, as the homeowner did here by hiring a new contractor and suing the original contractor. Using the wrong wood element represents a significant departure from the contract’s terms, and the contractor’s refusal to cure the issue further supports the characterization as material. In contrast, a partial breach typically involves minor or non-substantial deviations from the contract that do not undermine its overall purpose; this does not apply here as the wrong wood grade was a crucial term of the agreement.
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