MBE Rules · Contracts
Impossibility
The rule
A party's duty is discharged when, after the contract is made, performance is made impossible by an event whose non-occurrence was a basic assumption (e.g., death of party essential to performance, destruction of subject matter, supervening illegality), without fault of the obligor.
In plain English
If something unexpected happens that makes it impossible to fulfill a contract and no one is to blame, the person who was supposed to perform is no longer required to do so.
Worked example
A band books a venue for a concert, but the venue burns down before the event. The band's obligation to perform is discharged because they can't perform without the venue, and the fire wasn't their fault.
Memory hook
Impossible = Can't, not Won't. Performance blocked by unforeseen event without fault.
The trap
Students think: Any hardship excuses performance. Wrong, because only unforeseeable events discharge duty. The actual test is if performance is objectively impossible.
How examiners test it
The MBE loves: contract for specific performance + sudden event (e.g., venue burns down). Trap: students overlook that the event must be truly unforeseeable and not just inconvenient.
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