Legal Definitions - impracticability

Impracticability is a term used in contracts to describe a situation where a party is excused from performing their contractual duty because it would cause extreme and unreasonable difficulty. This difficulty or expense must have been unanticipated and the duty must have become much more difficult or much more expensive to perform.

• If a construction company agrees to build a house for a client, but a natural disaster destroys the materials needed to complete the project, the construction company may be excused from performing their duty due to impracticability.
• If a musician agrees to perform at a concert, but they become seriously ill and cannot perform, they may be excused from performing their duty due to impracticability.

These examples illustrate how impracticability can excuse a party from performing their contractual duty due to unforeseen circumstances that make it extremely difficult or impossible to fulfill their obligation.