Legal Definitions - lawful cause

Lawful cause refers to a legitimate, legally recognized, and justifiable reason for taking a particular action or making a specific decision. It signifies that the action is based on a valid ground that complies with legal requirements, rather than being arbitrary, discriminatory, or without proper justification. When an action is taken for "lawful cause," it means there is a legally defensible basis for it.

Here are some examples illustrating "lawful cause":

• Employment Termination: A software company terminates an employee's contract after a thorough review reveals the employee consistently failed to meet critical project deadlines and performance metrics, despite receiving multiple warnings and opportunities for improvement over several months. The company's employee handbook clearly outlines performance expectations and disciplinary procedures.

  This demonstrates "lawful cause" because the termination is based on documented, objective performance issues that violate established company policy and job requirements, providing a legally justifiable reason for dismissal rather than an arbitrary decision.

• Contractual Delay: A manufacturing company is unable to deliver a specialized component to a client by the agreed-upon date. However, their contract includes a clause stating that delays caused by a "force majeure" event, such as a government-mandated shutdown of their primary raw material supplier due to a public health crisis, would be considered a valid reason for postponement without penalty.

  In this scenario, the manufacturing company has "lawful cause" for the delay because the specific circumstances fall under a pre-agreed contractual provision, making the deviation from the original timeline legally permissible and justified.

• Eviction Proceedings: A landlord initiates eviction proceedings against a tenant who has repeatedly failed to pay rent on time for three consecutive months, despite receiving proper legal notices and opportunities to rectify the overdue payments. The lease agreement explicitly states that non-payment of rent is a material breach of the contract.

  The landlord has "lawful cause" for eviction because the tenant's consistent failure to meet a fundamental obligation of the lease agreement (paying rent) provides a clear, legally recognized justification for terminating the tenancy.