Carter v. Sherburne Corp. Case Brief Summary | Law Case Explained

Get more case briefs explained with Quimbee. Quimbee has over 16,300 case briefs (and counting) keyed to 223 casebooks ► https://www.quimbee.com/case-briefs-overview Carter v. Sherburne Corp. | 315 A.2d 870 (1974) Generally, if one party breaches a contract, then the nonbreaching party can sue for damages. In some circumstances, a breach may be so serious that in addition to suing for damages, the nonbreaching party also doesn’t have to perform its remaining contractual obligations. In Carter versus Sherburne Corporation, we explore when the failure to perform contractual obligations in a timely manner is sufficient to terminate a nonbreaching party’s duty to perform. When Sherburne Corporation hired Garth Carter to perform multiple construction tasks on a development project, the parties entered four contracts. Two of the contracts included completion dates and imposed penalties for untimely performance. During the course of Carter’s work, Sherburne routinely required Carter to shift his focus from one contract’s tasks to another’s. When Carter completed the work behind schedule, Sherburne refused to pay Carter the outstanding fees due under the contracts. Carter sued Sherburne for breach of contract, among other things. Sherburne countered that it wasn’t obligated to pay the outstanding balances under the contracts because Carter’s performance was untimely, terminating Sherburne’s duty to perform. The trial court found in favor of Carter, holding that time wasn’t of the essence in the contracts and that Carter’s delayed performance therefore didn’t terminate Sherburne’s contractual obligation to pay. Sherburne appealed to the Vermont Supreme Court. Want more details on this case? Get the rule of law, issues, holding and reasonings, and more case facts here: https://www.quimbee.com/cases/carter-v-sherburne-corp The Quimbee App features over 16,300 case briefs keyed to 223 casebooks. Try it free for 7 days! ► https://www.quimbee.com/case-briefs-overview Have Questions about this Case? Submit your questions and get answers from a real attorney here: https://www.quimbee.com/cases/carter-v-sherburne-corp Did we just become best friends? Stay connected to Quimbee here: Subscribe to our YouTube Channel ► https://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=QuimbeeDotCom Quimbee Case Brief App ► https://www.quimbee.com/case-briefs-overview Facebook ► https://www.facebook.com/quimbeedotcom/ Twitter ► https://twitter.com/quimbeedotcom #casebriefs #lawcases #casesummaries

Added 13 Jul 2026