Legal Definitions - impair

Definition: To make something less valuable or effective.

For example, if a person damages a car, they impair its value. In legal terms, impair is often used to describe a situation where a contract is no longer valid because one party has made it impossible for the other party to fulfill their obligations. This is known as the Contracts Clause, which is a part of the U.S. Constitution that prohibits states from passing laws that impair private contractual obligations.

For instance, if a landlord changes the terms of a lease agreement after the tenant has already signed it, they may be impairing the contract. This means that the tenant may no longer be bound by the original terms of the lease and may be able to break the contract without penalty.