1) Dr. Christen, a well-known physician and cancer expert, was under contract to deliver a major address to a physicians' group in Washington, D.C. for a $5,000 fee. A month before the scheduled address, Christen had a heart attack and had to cancel his engagements for a least six months. He notified the physicians' group that he was sending his assistant, also a doctor, who had been working with him. Does the group have to accept the substitute?

2/ How does commercial impracticability change the way that contracts are discharged because they are too difficult to perform? Is commercial impracticability a common law or statutory doctrine?

 

1.) Commercial Incompatibility means that performance under a contract is impractible and cannot be accomplished. The reason for incompatibility is due to an unforseen circumstances or event that doesn't occur neither the fault or negligence of parties. There are some examples of incompatibility.

• Natural disaster
• Weather related event i.e, flood, hurricane, tornado, earthquake etc.
• Injury of the performer
• Death or dissability of the third party involved in the contract

The situation/event (injury of yhe performer) happened to Dr. Christen is an example of commercial incompatibility.

Since Dr. Christen cannot perform the work on the date promised in the contract, the group may wait for Dr. Christen to be well after 6 months to complete the work. If ever they still wanted Dr. Christen and didn't accept his assistant.

2.) In case of Dr. Christen, since he can't perform for the group he wanted to send his assistant. Because it is difficult for Dr. Christen to perform the terms in the contract. It's a huge change in the contract. And it may void the contract, since the impractibility of Dr. Christen is proven. Totally it will be non-existing contract.

This is a common law under Uniform Commercial Code under section 2-615 provides the requirement that the event must have occured due to an unforseen or unexpected circumstance that occured due to no fault of either party. This code has made no attempt to define or categorized which entitle a party to claims of impractibility.