Petitioner Breaches Paternity Agreement and Confidentiality Contract Terms and Provisions
Full Question:
Answer:
The paternity agreement you entered into is considered a contract and will be governed by contract law. Both you and the father are bound by the terms of the contract. You should review the terms of your contract to determine your obligations under the confidentiality
provision, as well as when a breach has occurred and your rights following such breach.
Contracts are agreements that are legally enforceable. A contract is an
agreement between two parties that creates an obligation to do or
refrain from doing a particular thing. The purpose of a contract is to
establish the terms of the agreement by which the parties have fixed
their rights and duties. An unjustifiable failure to perform all or some
part of a contractual duty is a breach of contract. A legal action for
breach of contract arises when at least one party's performance does not
live up to the terms of the contract and causes the other party to
suffer economic damage or other types of measurable injury. Contracts
are mainly governed by state statutory and common (judge-made) law and
private law. Private law generally refers to the terms of the agreement
between the parties, as parties have freedom to override many state law
requirements regarding formalities of contracts. Each state has
developed its own common law of contracts, which consists of a body of
jurisprudence developed over time by trial and appellate courts on a
case-by-case basis.
A lawsuit for breach of contract is a civil action and the remedies
awarded are designed to place the injured party in the position they
would be in if not for the breach. Remedies for contractual breaches are
not designed to punish the breaching party. The five basic remedies for
breach of contract include the following: money damages, restitution,
rescission, reformation, and specific performance. A money damage award
includes a sum of money that is given as compensation for financial
losses caused by a breach of contract. Parties injured by a breach are
entitled to the benefit of the bargain they entered, or the net gain
that would have accrued but for the breach. The type of breach governs
the extent of damages that may be recovered. Restitution is a remedy
designed to restore the injured party to the position occupied prior to
the formation of the contract. Parties seeking restitution may not
request to be compensated for lost profits or other earnings caused by a
breach. Instead, restitution aims at returning to the plaintiff any
money or property given to the defendant under the contract. Plaintiffs
typically seek restitution when contracts they have entered are voided
by courts due to a defendant's incompetence or incapacity. Rescission is
the name for the remedy that terminates the contractual duties of both
parties, while reformation is the name for the remedy that allows courts
to change the substance of a contract to correct inequities that were
suffered. In order to have a rescission, both parties to the contract
must be placed in the position they occupied before the contract was
made. Courts have held that a party may rescind a contract for fraud,
incapacity, duress, undue influence, material breach in performance of a
promise, or mistake, among other grounds. Specific performance is an
equitable remedy that compels one party to perform, as nearly as
practicable, his or her duties specified by the contract. Specific
performance is available only when money damages are inadequate to
compensate the plaintiff for the breach.
Confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements are used to impose
confidentiality obligations on parties receiving information on
materials from disclosing parties which consider such information or
material to be confidential. Drafting the appropriate contract requires
consideration of some key issues. One important consideration is to
identify, with particularity, the information which is confidential.
There may be limitations on what information is deemed confidential,
such as information already known to the signing party, or information
made public, through government agency order, etc. Another issue is
whether you are the party receiving or disclosing such information. A
further issue concerns the duration for keeping the information
confidential. Also important is an explanation of the purpose for
disclosure, i.e. when confidential information is only revealed to
another party for a specific purpose. The agreement should set forth
what the purpose is. Other provisions that are commonly found in
confidentiality agreements include a provision allowing the remainder of
an agreement to stay in effect even if a portion of the agreement is
found to be unenforceable; a provision stating that the agreement is
binding on heirs and assigns; a provision calling for a return of
confidential materials after use by recipient; a provision stating that
the discloser has the right to receive an injunction from a court if the
agreement is breached; a provision specifically specifying that the
discloser owns all confidential information; a provision specifying that
disputes should be arbitrated; and a provision governing the controlling
law for the contract.
