Waiver or Release from Contract - Explained
Waiver of Rights and Release from Duties
Written by Jason Gordon
Updated at September 24th, 2021
- Marketing, Advertising, Sales & PR
- Accounting, Taxation, and Reporting
- Professionalism & Career Development
-
Law, Transactions, & Risk Management
Government, Legal System, Administrative Law, & Constitutional Law Legal Disputes - Civil & Criminal Law Agency Law HR, Employment, Labor, & Discrimination Business Entities, Corporate Governance & Ownership Business Transactions, Antitrust, & Securities Law Real Estate, Personal, & Intellectual Property Commercial Law: Contract, Payments, Security Interests, & Bankruptcy Consumer Protection Insurance & Risk Management Immigration Law Environmental Protection Law Inheritance, Estates, and Trusts
- Business Management & Operations
- Economics, Finance, & Analytics
- Courses
Table of Contents
What is Waiver or Release from a Contract?What is a Waiver of Rights in a Contract? What is a Release from Obligations in a Contract? Discussion QuestionPractice QuestionAcademic ResearchWhat is Waiver or Release from a Contract?
A waiver and a release serve to excuse one or both parties duty of performance. Each is discussed below.
Next Article: Breach of Contract Back to: CONTRACT LAW
What is a Waiver of Rights in a Contract?
When a party intentionally relinquishes a right to enforce the contract. A waiver is generally employed after a party fails to perform.
- Example: Per our contract, I am supposed to paint your house, but I fail to do so in the allotted time. You grant a waiver excusing my liability for failure to perform.
What is a Release from Obligations in a Contract?
When one party is relieved from her promise of performance. A release generally occurs before a contracting party has to perform.
- Example: We sign a contract where you agree to pay me to paint your house by the end of the month. Before my performance is due, I explain that I do not have time to paint your house. You sign a release that frees me of my duty to paint your house.
Waiver and release are often used synonymously to refer to a single document that simultaneously relieves a party from her duty to perform and excuses a non-performance or breach.
Related Topics
- When is a party's Duty of performance?
- What is an Executed contract vs an Executory contract?
- What is Performance, Substantial Performance, and Breach of a contract?
- What is performance of a Divisible Contract?
- When is a party's duty of performance discharged?
- What are conditions to Contract (Precedent & Subsequent)?
- What is tender performance of a contract?
- What are Impossibility and Impracticability
- What is a Frustration of Purpose?
- Novation
- What is a Breach of Contract?
- Acceleration Clause (Contracts) Definition
- What methods exist for resolving a breach?
- What remedies exist for a breach of contract?
- What is Efficient Breach?
- Accord and Satisfaction
- Force Majeure Clause
Discussion Question
What do you think is the justification for categorizing a release and waiver differently? Should the content of a release agreement be treated differently than the content of a waiver?
Practice Question
Pam enters into a contract with Lia to perform consulting services for her business. Pam has a great deal of work and is too busy to perform the contract. She asks Lia to let her out of the contract. What is Pam asking of Lia?
- In this case, Pam is asking for a release from her obligation to perform the contract. If she has already breached the agreement (by failing to perform in a timely manner), she would be asking for a waiver of potential liability. [/ht_toggle]