Also known as: practicably · feasible
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A standard of feasibility under which an action, modification, or performance can be accomplished without undue hardship or impossibility given the circumstances.
Pulse Media operates a printing plant whose emissions cause serious respiratory harm to neighbor Priya Prasad. After weighing the extent of harm against the plant's utility, the court finds that compensating Prasad and similarly situated neighbors would not render continued operations impracticable. The invasion is therefore unreasonable under the governing standard.
A recorded easement required Phuong Pham's parcel to remain open pasture for scenic views benefiting Pavel Petrov's uphill lot. After the city rezoned the area for dense housing, the original purpose became impossible as a practical matter. The court modifies the servitude to allow limited residential use because outright termination would be less effective than a practicable adjustment preserving the view benefit.
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Portia Price created a trust directing income to maintain a historic library on her estate for public use. After a wildfire destroyed the building and local codes barred reconstruction, the trustee petitions to redirect funds to a digital archive. The court grants modification because the change furthers the trust purpose and the new terms can be crafted to the extent practicable in accordance with Price's probable intent.
Pilar Pena files a complaint alleging multiple breaches arising from separate construction contracts. To promote clarity the court requires each claim to be stated in a separate count. Pena's attorney revises the pleading so that each paragraph is limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances.
Pacific Bank agrees to supply custom software and ongoing maintenance to Prism Analytics. A sudden hardware shortage renders one module impossible to deliver, yet the bank can still furnish the remaining substantial performance through a reasonable substitute. The bank's duty to render the unaffected portions continues because substantial performance remains practicable.
Progressive Healthcare's pre-incorporation subscribers include some who tender equipment and others who tender cash for the same class of shares. The board issues a payment call granting equipment contributors a short deferral while requiring immediate cash from the rest. The call satisfies the uniformity requirement so far as practicable given the distinct valuation and delivery risks of each form of consideration.
A court may modify administrative or dispositive terms when circumstances not anticipated by the settlor arise and modification will further the trust's purposes. The modification must be made to the extent practicable in accordance with the settlor's probable intention.
The board may set payment terms but must make calls uniform so far as practicable across shares of the same class. Differences in valuation and delivery risks of equipment versus cash may justify limited, tailored adjustments that still treat subscribers as evenly as feasible.
A court first asks whether changed conditions make the original purpose impossible as a practical matter. If modification can accomplish that purpose and would be effective, the court prefers modification over termination and may award compensation to beneficiaries for resulting harm.
The invasion is unreasonable if the harm is serious and the financial burden of compensating the plaintiff and similarly situated persons would not make continuation of the conduct not feasible. The court therefore balances the gravity of harm against the utility of the conduct under that feasibility test.
…of judicial self-restraint and humility cannot compete with the temptation to achieve what is viewed as a noble end by any practicable means. I do not doubt that my colleagues in the majority sincerely see in the Constitution a vision of liberty that happens to coincide with their own. But this sincerity is cause for…