DISCHARGE BY PERFORMANCE/DISCHARGE BY BREACH Problem Question James has bought a large house in need of decoration and repair. The gardens to the back and front of the house are quite extensive. James entered a contract with Install Ltd to fit UPVC double glazing to all of the 40 windows of the house at a price of £200 per window. Install Ltd requires the total price of £8,000 to be paid on completion of the contract. James also entered a contract with Alan, a local builder, to build a 5 ft wall around the back garden and a 5 ft wall around the front garden at a price of £1,000 which is also payable on completion of the work. Upon completion of the UPVC installation, James inspected the windows but finds that some windows have not been double glazed and that 20 of the windows will still allow in a lot of noise and draughts. James also noticed that the wall around the back garden has been built to 4 ft whilst the wall around the front garden has been built to 2 ft. James now refuses to pay for the windows and the building of the walls. Advise Install Ltd and Alan of their contractual position and whether they can get their payments. Contracts can be terminated (the obligations are discharged and are no longer binding.) ; the parties are discharged from any further performance of obligations under the contract in four main ways. One way is by performance; this is where both parties comply fully with the terms of the contract. Another way is by agreement; this is where the parties agree to abandon or to discharge the contract. Another being by operation of the law; this is where the contract is frustrated by a rule of law. The final way is by breach of contract ; this is where one party unlawfully does not or does not satisfactorily perform what was required of him by the contract. The first issue that needs to be considered is whether James should pay Install Ltd for the work the installation of the 40 windows. It must be established whether Install Ltd's contractual position would allow them to receive their payments. The general rule is that in order to discharge a party's contractual obligations then the performance must generally be"precise and exact". The parties must always do what they promised to do in order to satisfy the performance of the contract. The rule is quite strict: there may be no performance even if the consequences are not substantially different. In this instance the "precise and exact" performance that was required was "to fit UPVC double glazing to all the 40 windows". This idea of "precise and exact performance" was further explored in the case of Arcos v EA Ronaasen [1933]. The claimant contracted with the defendant for the latter to supply wooden staves from making cement barrels. It was specified in the contract that the staves be half an inchthick, no