Legal Definitions - accord

The term "accord" generally refers to an agreement or a state of harmony between parties. In a legal context, it has a more specific meaning related to settling existing obligations or disputes.

• General Agreement or Harmony:

  This refers to a state of mutual understanding or agreement, often used when discussing relations between nations or groups.

  • Example: After months of intense negotiations, the two neighboring countries finally reached an accord on shared water resources, agreeing on a fair distribution and management plan that satisfied both parties.

    Explanation: This illustrates the general meaning of accord as a harmonious agreement or understanding achieved between parties, in this case, sovereign nations, resolving a point of contention.

• Legal Agreement to Settle an Obligation or Dispute:

  In contract law, an accord is an agreement between two parties to resolve an existing legal claim, debt, or dispute by accepting a new or different performance or payment than what was originally due. It's essentially a new contract to settle an old one. Once this new agreement is performed, it is called "satisfaction," and the original obligation is discharged.

  • Example 1 (Debt Settlement): A small business owes a supplier $8,000 for materials. Due to unexpected financial difficulties, the business owner proposes to pay $5,000 immediately, and the supplier agrees to accept this lesser amount as full payment for the original $8,000 debt.

    Explanation: This is an accord because both parties agreed to substitute a new, different obligation (paying $5,000) for the original one (paying $8,000) to resolve the debt. The agreement itself to accept the new terms is the accord.

  • Example 2 (Disputed Service): A homeowner hired a landscaper for a garden redesign, but after completion, they were dissatisfied with certain aspects and refused to pay the full $3,000 invoice. To avoid a lengthy dispute, the homeowner and landscaper reached an accord where the homeowner would pay $2,000, and in return, the landscaper would accept this as full and final payment, releasing the homeowner from the original $3,000 claim.

    Explanation: Here, an accord is formed as the parties agree to resolve a dispute over a service by substituting a new payment amount ($2,000) for the original disputed invoice ($3,000). This new agreement settles the prior disagreement.

  • Example 3 (Non-Monetary Resolution): A tenant accidentally damaged a wall in their rented apartment. Instead of paying for the repair, which would cost $700, the tenant offered to professionally repaint the entire living room and hallway, and the landlord agreed that this would fully resolve the claim for the damaged wall.

    Explanation: This demonstrates an accord where a new, non-monetary performance (repainting a larger area) is agreed upon to settle an existing obligation (paying for wall damage). The agreement to accept this alternative performance is the accord.