Also known as: valid agreements · enforceable agreement
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A mutual understanding between two or more persons about their relative rights and duties that satisfies all legal requirements for enforceability. Mutual assent must be manifested, and any statute of frauds, writing, or other formal requirement imposed by applicable law must be met. An agreement meeting these standards binds the parties and supports remedies for breach.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Vincente Vukovic leased commercial space from Villanueva Construction. The landlord failed to repair the roof as required, forcing Vincente to relocate and incur extra moving costs. Because the lease contained no clause fixing damages, the court applied the default measure and awarded Vincente the fair market value of the lease plus his reasonably foreseeable pre-default expenditures.
Vega Motors assigned its accounts receivable from Victoria Vernon to Valor Capital. Victoria received proper notice of the assignment but had never signed any agreement waiving defenses. When Valor Capital sued for payment, Victoria asserted her original contract claims against Vega Motors, and the court permitted those defenses to reduce the amount owed.
During their divorce, Dennis and Anne Graham disputed whether Dennis's professional degree counted as marital property. The couple had never executed any written agreement excluding educational achievements from division. The court therefore included the degree's value in the marital estate and divided it accordingly.
Trans World Airlines scheduled Larry Hardison for Saturday shifts that conflicted with his religious observance. The airline and union had a valid collective-bargaining agreement containing a neutral seniority system. The court held that the airline need not violate that agreement to accommodate Hardison.
Van Dam purchased a lot in a subdivision subject to recorded covenants requiring single-family homes. Earlier buyers and the developer had entered a valid agreement imposing uniform restrictions across the entire tract. The court enforced the covenants against Van Dam because the common scheme rested on that enforceable agreement.
An agreement qualifies when the parties have manifested mutual assent to its terms and any required formalities are satisfied. Absent such a valid agreement fixing damages, the tenant may recover the fair market value of the lease plus reasonably foreseeable expenditures made before the landlord's default.
Yes. An enforceable agreement by the account debtor not to assert defenses or claims binds the debtor and limits the assignee's exposure to those defenses. Without such an agreement, the assignee takes subject to all defenses arising from the underlying transaction.
…statute,[^maj-12] but we do not believe that the duty to accommodate requires TWA to take steps inconsistent with the otherwise valid agreement. Collective bargaining, aimed at effecting workable and enforceable agreements between management and labor, lies at the core of our national labor policy, and seniority provisions are…
…devise, or descent; “(c) Property acquired by a spouse after a decree of legal separation; and “(d) Property excluded by valid agreement
…asserts that the second statement does not satisfy the Statute of Frauds because it did not contain all the terms of an enforceable agreement
…5 Dick. (N. J.) 329, 335-341. The simple explanation that the deed to the earlier purchaser, subject to restrictions, implied an enforceable agreement
…Marine Applicators, Inc. , 579 F.Supp. 1420, 1427 (E.D.N.Y.1984); Reprosystem, B.V. , 522 F.Supp. at 1275 (“[W]hile there is no enforceable agreement
A valid agreement between spouses can exclude property from the marital estate. When no such agreement exists, property acquired during marriage is presumed marital and subject to equitable division.
A valid seniority system contained in a collective-bargaining agreement need not yield to religious accommodation when doing so would violate the neutral terms of that agreement. The duty to accommodate does not require breach of an otherwise lawful contract.
A valid agreement among developers and lot owners establishing a common scheme of restrictions allows later purchasers to enforce those covenants against subsequent buyers. The agreement supplies the mutual assent necessary to bind all lots within the restricted area.