Conditions Precedent, Subsequent and Concurrent: The Term

¶ … Conditions Precedent, Subsequent and Concurrent:

The term condition is not only used in both the law of property and law of contract though with some differences in meaning. In the law of contract, this term is used in a very lose sense to mean provision or clause making it to perform no useful service. However, this concept primarily means certain operative fact that is successive to acceptance and before discharge. Actually, in its proper sense, condition means a fact with which the rights and responsibilities of the parties depend. Consequently, it may be an act of one of the two contracting parties, a fact of the physical world, and a third party's act. While there are various conditions, they are all precedent to the legal associations and other facts that come before them (Corbin, 1919). Notably, an obligation can become conditional when the rights or duties of the parties depend on the occurrence of an unlikely event. In most cases, conditions may be precedent, subsequent, or concurrent.

Conditions Precedent:

A condition precedent can be described as one that is performed before some act dependent is conducted or right dependent accrues ("Civil Code," n.d.). It can be simply defined as an event that takes place before the performance of an obligation becomes due. Therefore, the occurrence basically triggers the obligation since the operative fact must be in existence before the establishment of some legal relation. When the condition precedent is used, it's mostly in situations when there is an instant or unconditional duty of performance by a promisor or minor duty to cater for damages for a breach of the duty of performance.

Conditions Subsequent:

A condition subsequent is referred to as an operative fact that results in the termination of certain past legal relation. This concept is mainly used when referring to both the primary and secondary duties as it terminates a past valid contract. While the condition subsequent are closely linked legal concepts, it may take differing form of events that take place when both parties are bound to the contract. These situations in conditions subsequent can also incorporate the failure of the occurrence of events as well as the termination of a current occurrence.

In most cases, the occurrence of a condition subsequent results in the cessation of any duty to perform and the rights and interests within the terms of the contract. Therefore, it's important to carefully read and understand contracts in order to detect any situations that may be conditions subsequent and determine what happens if the situations occur. This requires the involvement of a lawyer to review the benefits of the proposed contract because contract law can sometimes be extremely complicated ("What Is a Condition Subsequent?" n.d.). When a contract consists of a clause that incorporates a condition subsequent and is suspected as a hypothetical circumstance, it important to ask for help from a lawyer before the situation arises. Nonetheless, conditions subsequent are less common despite being closely linked to conditions precedent ("Promises and Conditions," n.d.).

Conditions Concurrent:

Conditions concurrent are those that are mutually dependent and need to be conducted at the same time. These conditions occur because of the existence of several bilateral creating contracts that contributes to the development of mutual duties that necessitate concurrent performances by the involved parties. In most cases, the tender of performance by one party is held by one party as a condition precedent to the immediate duty of the other. Despite of the fact that performances are simultaneous, such situations are primarily known as concurrent conditions. Nonetheless, concurrent conditional duties may result in the instant duty of every party to be subjected to a condition precedent.