Legal Definitions - avoidance

In legal terms, avoidance refers to the act of preventing a legal obligation, consequence, or agreement from taking effect or continuing. It can also describe a specific legal defense strategy where a party acknowledges certain facts but introduces new information to escape liability.

• Example 1: Preventing a Legal Obligation

  A property developer carefully designs a new housing complex to ensure it complies with environmental regulations in a way that legally minimizes the amount of impact fees payable to the local municipality.

  Explanation: This illustrates avoidance because the developer is taking lawful steps to prevent or reduce a financial obligation (the impact fees) that they might otherwise incur if the development were structured differently.

• Example 2: Making an Agreement Legally Invalid

  After discovering that a signed contract for a business partnership was based on fraudulent financial projections provided by the other party, one partner successfully petitions a court to declare the contract null and void.

  Explanation: Here, avoidance refers to the act of making the partnership contract legally ineffective or invalid, thereby preventing the partners from being bound by its terms due to the fraud.

• Example 3: A Legal Defense Strategy

  In a lawsuit where a client sues an architect for structural defects in a building, the architect might admit that defects exist but argue that the client insisted on using cheaper, substandard materials against the architect's professional advice, thereby attempting to avoid full liability for the defects.

  Explanation: This demonstrates avoidance as a legal defense strategy. The architect "confesses" to the basic fact (defects exist) but introduces new facts (client's insistence on cheap materials) to "avoid" the full legal consequence or liability.