Definition

Noun: 1. A legal remedy requiring a party to fulfill their obligations under a contract exactly as promised: This is a court order compelling a party to perform the specific actions they agreed to in a contract, rather than merely paying monetary damages for not performing.

Usage

This term is used exclusively in a legal context. It refers to a type of equitable remedy sought in contract law when monetary compensation (damages) would be insufficient to make the wronged party whole.

Examples

• The court granted specific performance, ordering the seller to transfer the unique property to the buyer as stated in the sales agreement.
• Because the antique vase was one-of-a-kind, the buyer sued for specific performance of the contract instead of just seeking money.
• The judge ruled that specific performance was the appropriate remedy to enforce the artist's promise to deliver the commissioned painting.

Advanced Usage

• "To seek specific performance": To ask a court to issue this type of order.
  • The company will seek specific performance to force the merger to proceed as contracted.
• "To be entitled to specific performance": To have the legal right to obtain this remedy.
  • The plaintiff was entitled to specific performance because the land had special value.

Variants and Related Words

• Specific Performance Order/Decree (n): The formal document issued by a court commanding the action.
  • The judge signed the specific performance order compelling the construction to be completed.

Synonyms

• Equitable Relief: A broader category of non-monetary court remedies, which includes specific performance.
• Injunctive Relief: A court order to do or refrain from doing a specific act; specific performance is a type of mandatory injunction.

Antonyms

• Monetary Damages: Financial compensation awarded for a breach of contract, as opposed to an order to perform.
• Rescission: The cancellation of a contract, putting the parties back in their pre-contract positions, rather than enforcing it.

Noun

1. the performance of a legal contract as specified by its terms