Also known as: nullification · doctrine of nullification · nullify · nullified · nullifying · states' rights nullification · interposition doctrine
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A legal principle by which a prior repudiation, revocation, or triggering event is rendered ineffective when a retraction occurs before the injured party relies or when the underlying event itself is nullified.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Nalini Narula told Nyah Ndlovu she would not deliver the software under their contract. Narula later sent written notice retracting that statement. Ndlovu had not yet altered her position or told Narula the repudiation was final, so the retraction nullified the repudiation and the contract remained in force.
Nathan Nguyen executed a will leaving property to his then-wife Nadia Novak and later divorced her. After the divorce the provision was revoked by operation of law. Nguyen and Novak remarried, which nullified the dissolution and revived the original testamentary gift to her.
Norman Nash stopped performance on a supply contract because of a labor strike that constituted a repudiation. The strike ended and Nash resumed work before the buyer materially changed position or declared the repudiation final. The cessation of the strike nullified the repudiation and the contract obligations continued.
Nexus Financial issued a payment order that was later cancelled under a funds-transfer rule. The receiving bank received notice of the cancellation before acceptance. The cancellation nullified the order and no payment obligation arose for the originator.
Nobel Dynamics held a will provision revoked solely by divorce. The former spouses remarried before any reliance on the revocation. The remarriage nullified the divorce and revived the provision under the applicable probate statute.
Nova Pharmaceuticals and a supplier agreed in a separate writing to modify payment terms on an instrument. The agreement was part of the same transaction. The modification nullified the original obligation to the extent stated in the writing and served as a defense to enforcement.
Notification of the retraction must reach the injured party before that party materially changes position in reliance on the repudiation or indicates that the repudiation is final.
Supporting sources
The provision is revived if the testator remarries the former spouse, reexecutes the will, executes a codicil showing intent to revive, or the dissolution is nullified.
Supporting sources
…with compulsion, while the confession rule may exclude statements obtained by trick or promise; and where the privilege has been nullified—as by the English Bankruptcy Act—the confession rule may still operate. [^maj-7]: Additionally, there are precedents and even historical arguments that can be arrayed in favor of bringing…