Finishing a job late constitutes a breach only if what condition is met?

• A. Time is of the essence in the contract
• B. The buyer complains
• C. The contract price increases
• D. The goods are perishable

Answer: (A)

The main idea tested is that timely performance becomes a breach only when the contract makes time of the essence. When a time-of-the-essence clause is in place, finishing late breaches the contract because the deadline is an essential term. Without such a clause, a late completion isn’t automatically a breach; the delay might be tolerable or could become a breach only if the delay is material or defeats the contract’s purpose. The other factors—buyer complaints, price increases, or perishability—don’t by themselves create a breach from lateness, since they don’t establish that timely completion was an essential term of the agreement.