Often viewed as simply “the cost of doing business,” contract disputes are a frequent issue across nearly every industry in the United States. Contracts are typically signed with the expectation that all parties will meet their obligations for a defined period. However, when one party fails to perform—or performs improperly—it can result in a breach of contract, leading to costly disputes, business disruption, and potential litigation.
Below are seven of the most common types of contract disputes businesses and individuals face today. These examples reflect everyday agreements used by professionals across a wide range of industries.
Commercial lease disputes are among the most common contract conflicts, particularly between landlords and business tenants. These disputes often stem from ambiguous lease language, missing provisions, or misunderstood obligations.
One frequent issue involves unlawful detainer actions, where a landlord seeks eviction and demands accelerated rent payments—sometimes up to 12 months of rent—after a tenant vacates the property. In some cases, landlords pursue these damages even when the lease does not clearly authorize them. Conversely, tenants may unknowingly violate lease terms due to vague or poorly drafted clauses.
Disputes involving commercial leases often require legal review to determine whether the lease terms are enforceable and whether either party breached their contractual obligations.
Non-compete agreements are a common source of litigation, especially in industries where client relationships, confidential information, or intellectual property are involved. Employers may require employees to sign agreements restricting their ability to work for competitors after leaving the company.
Problems arise when non-compete clauses are overly broad—such as prohibiting employment across an entire industry or geographic region. These restrictions often lead to legal challenges, particularly when they interfere with a person’s ability to earn a living. Courts frequently scrutinize non-compete agreements to determine whether they are reasonable and enforceable.
Sale of goods contracts, governed by the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), are among the most flexible—and most frequently disputed—agreements in business. These contracts are commonly used in wholesale, supply chain, and liquidation deals. Disputes often arise when products arrive significantly not as described (SNAD) or fail to arrive at all. While some of these contracts offer minimal performance guarantees, others are enforceable when clear promises are made. Breaches involving misrepresented products or failure to deliver are often grounds for legal action.
Non-disclosure agreement disputes occur when one party violates confidentiality obligations outlined in a written agreement. NDAs are designed to protect trade secrets, proprietary information, pricing strategies, client lists, and internal data.
Breaches often involve former employees, business partners, or contractors who disclose protected information to competitors or public platforms—sometimes unintentionally. When confidential information is leaked and causes measurable harm, the injured party may pursue legal remedies, including injunctions and monetary damages.
Consumer contract disputes often arise when individuals sign agreements for goods or services and feel that the business failed to deliver as promised. These can involve gym memberships, home service contracts, financing agreements, or retail purchases. Disputes frequently revolve around unclear cancellation policies, hidden fees, or failure to provide the agreed-upon product or service. In some cases, consumers may not even realize they entered into a binding agreement. These disputes can lead to chargebacks, small claims litigation, or complaints to consumer protection agencies.
Today’s interconnected world relies on contracts between various businesses around the globe to operate efficiently. Your website hosting? That’s a company contract. Just took on several new clients for your writing company? There was probably a contract drafted for that. Everywhere you look, businesses are contractually involved with another proprietor in some manner.
When one party breaches the agreement, and calculable losses start mounting, they may be civilly liable for those damages provided the language in the contract was clear. For example, if you’re promising to lease 100 GB of cloud space to another business each month, but only provide 50 GB, you’ve breached a company contract.
By definition, material breaches are the outright refusal to follow the terms set within the contract – literally all of them. It calls to question whether the contract should’ve been formed to begin with, let alone signed.
The damages caused by material breaches could amass millions or more. These are serious, and should be treated as mission critical if you’re accused of causing irreparable differences so grave the contract is thematically useless.
The most interesting type of contractual disagreement isn’t a contract at all, but falls under contract law. When two parties have a written obligation to each other, and an outside party attempts to damage that relationship by interfering with one or all components of the contract, a tort claim can be made by either or both parties damaged by the interference.
One example would be if the NBA had a contractual obligation to a major athletic clothing line, but the NFL decided to “entice” the clothier away by making outlandish offers or promises. In this scenario, the NFL committed tortious interference and would be liable for damages the NBA suffered.
Language is as important to contracts as the people who will be bound by their terms. Properly written contracts with language each party can clearly understand could stop many contract disputes before they start. Of course, one cannot predict where and when another party will breach the contract, but with clear and concise wording, any sensible party would be hard-pressed to blatantly deviate from the terms set forth.
Due diligence is another key component of successful contracts. Simply put, do your homework and choose wisely who you adjoin signatures with on paper.
If you’ve done your part and another party breached their end of any contract you signed with them, Grisham & Kendall offers assistance with TROs, pre-litigation, and other forms of contract defense.
We have been helping our neighbors in both Houston and Dallas, as well as throughout Texas, with business law cases such as contract dispute cases since 2000, and we are ready to help you as well. To learn more about how our breach of contract attorneys can help you with a contract dispute or any other issue, contact us today at (214) 308-2027 to discuss your claim.
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