Welcome to English as a Second Language podcast number 1,120.
Breaching a Contract.
This is English as a Second Language podcast episode 1120.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
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On this episode we're going to hear a dialogue between Sandra and Antonine about breaching or breaking a contract, an official agreement between two people.
Let's get started.
I don't know what to do.
Our contractor installed the wrong equipment and now we're having major problems.
I've tried contacting her but she's dodging my calls.
The trouble is I've already paid her in full.
Well that's a breach of contract.
Your only recourse might be to take her to court.
I'd hate to do that.
I'd rather settle this out of court.
I don't blame you, but if she's hiding out or has washed her hands of this whole situation...
Suing her might be the only way to compel her to fix the problem.
We've already suffered major damage as a result of her mistakes.
Then that's all the more reason to see your attorney.
You'll need to go to court to collect damages.
I'm a divorce attorney.
I can only help you if you're married to your contractor.
I want to start this episode by apologizing a little bit for my voice today.
It seems to be a little hoarse, H-O-A-R-S-E.
When your voice is hoarse, you sound like this.
You sound as though perhaps you've been using your voice too much.
Maybe screaming at the television as I was doing last night when the Dodgers were playing.
My favorite baseball team, of course.
Anyway.
This episode is not about voices or baseball.
It's about breaching a contract.
A contract, C-O-N-T-R-A-C-T, is a legal agreement between two people or two organizations.
We usually use the term parties, P-A-R-T-I-E-S.
This isn't the kind of party where you go drinking and dancing.
The term party in legal English, if you will refers to two people or groups that are part of some sort of official contract or agreement.
Sandra begins by saying, I don't know what to do.
Our contractor installed the wrong equipment and now we're having major problems.
Your contractor, C-O-N-T-R-A-C-T-O-R, is a person who you have a contract with, but who specifically works on construction projects, building a house, or perhaps putting in a new bathroom, putting on a new roof.
These would all be projects that a contractor would work on.
The contractor installed the wrong equipment, according to Sandra.
To install I-N-S-T-A-L-L means to take a piece of equipment, in this case, and make sure that it is working properly, connecting it to the other parts of whatever it is it is being connected to.
So, for example, if you buy a new stove for cooking, the contractor would install your stove, would put it in the right place, connect the gas to it or the electricity that it needed, and so forth.
We use this verb to install also when we're talking about software, computer programs that you put on your stove or your iPhone, Android phone tablet, whatever it is you have.
Sandra says, I've tried contacting her, her being the contractor, but she's dodging my calls.
There aren't a lot of female contractors even today, but Sandra apparently found one.
She tried contacting her, but the contractor is dodging my calls.
To dodge, D-O-D-G-E, means to avoid someone or something, to find a way not to deal with someone.
The contractor is dodging her calls.
She's not answering her phone or returning her calls.
Sandra says, the trouble is I've already paid her in full.
To pay someone in full, F-U-L-L, means to give them 100% of the money you owe them.
Sometimes with contractors who work at your house, you give them say, 50 before they start working and then the rest of it when they finish the job.
Well, Sandra has already paid this contractor in full, 100%.
Antonin says, well, that's a breach of contract.
A breach, B-R-E-A-C-H, here means a breaking of.
When someone doesn't follow the contract, the legal expression would be a breach of contract.
He says, your only recourse might be to take her to court.
A recourse R-E-C-O-U-R-S-E is something you do in a difficult or challenging situation, but it isn't really something you want to do.
It isn't your first choice.
Recourse is another word you will mostly hear in some sort of legal discussion or read about in some.
That is, talking about legal issues.
A recourse is something that you can do in order to try to get out of a situation.
To take someone to court C-O-U-R-T means to go to the government and complain in the.
To take someone to court is to sue S-U-E them.
To go to a judge and say this person broke the contract, breached the contract and I want my money back.
Sandra says, I'd hate to do that.
She doesn't want to do that.
I'd rather settle this out of court.
To settle S-E-T-T-L-E.
Something means to solve some problem, to take care of some difficult situation.
Out of court means without going to the government, without going to the judge and asking him to take care of the situation.
To settle something out of court means to take care of it on your own, without involving the government at all.
Antonin says, I don't blame you.
To blame B-L-A-M-E someone is to say that they did something wrong, to say that they are responsible for some problem.
However, when someone says I don't blame you, he's saying I understand why you're doing what you're doing, even though I don't completely agree with it.
Antonin says I don't blame you, but if she's hiding out or has washed her hands of this whole situation, suing her might be the only way to compel her to fix the problem.
Lots of expressions in that sentence.
Let's start with she's hiding out.
To hide, H-I-D-E, out, is a two-word phrasal verb that really means the same as to hide.
It means to stay away from other people and not allow yourself to be found.
Usually, we use this phrasal verb when we're talking about someone who has done something wrong and doesn't want the police or anyone else finding him.
To wash your hands of something means to say that you are not going to get involved or you are not accepting responsibility for a situation.
Those of you familiar with the Christian Bible will remember the famous scene of Pontius Pilate washing his hands of the situation involving Jesus.
Well, that's probably one of the origins, if not the origin, of this expression to wash your hands of something.
It means to indicate that you're not going to have anything to do with it.
You're not going to get involved in this situation.
Antonin says that suing the contractor... might be the only way to compel her to fix the problem.
We already mentioned the verb to sue, which is to take someone to court.
To compel, C-O-M-P-E-L someone, means to make someone do something.
To say, here, you have to do it now.
Sandra says... we've already suffered major damage as a result of her mistakes.
She's saying that they've already had a lot of problems, that they have actually had damage done to their house.
Antonin says, then that's all the more reason to see your attorney.
The expression all the more reason is a little unusual, but you will hear that in English or read it.
It means an even better reason or motivation for doing something.
When you give someone a reason to do something, And then you want to give them an additional reason.
Usually it's something the other person has said that you agree would be another good reason for doing something.
You would say all the more reason to do it.
For example, if your friend wants to ask a girl out on a date, ask her to go to dinner with him.
You might say to him well, she's very beautiful.
You should ask her out.
And your friend says to you, and I heard she just broke up with her boyfriend.
You might say well, all the more reason to ask her out, now that she doesn't have a boyfriend anymore.
It's a little dangerous asking them out if they have boyfriends.
Be careful about that, guys.
I know.
Anyway, Antonin says, all the more reason to see your attorney.
A-T-T-O-R-N-E-Y.
Your attorney is your lawyer, the person who has studied law and represents people and then takes all of your money.
Antonin says you'll need to go to court to collect damages.
To collect damages means to get money back back from someone who has hurt you or has done something wrong or, in this case, has breached a contract.
Sandra says aren't you an attorney?
Couldn't you help us?
Antonin says i'm a divorce attorney.
Attorneys often specialize in one kind of law.
Antonin says he doesn't do this kind of law, the kind that Sandra would need.
Instead, he's a divorce, D-I-V-O-R-C-E, attorney.
A divorce is a legal end to your marriage.
He helps people get divorced, we would say.
So he's not going to be a lot of help in this situation.
Now let's listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.
I don't know what to do.
Our contractor installed the wrong equipment and now we're having major problems.
I've tried contacting her, but she's dodging my calls.
The trouble is, I've already paid her in full.
Well, that's a breach of contract.
Your only recourse might be to take her to court.
I'd hate to do that.
I'd rather settle this out of court.
I don't blame you, but if she's hiding out or has washed her hands of this whole situation, suing her might be the only way to compel her to fix the problem.
We've already suffered major damage as a result of her mistakes.
Then that's all the more reason to see your attorney.
You'll need to go to court to collect damages.
Aren't you an attorney?
Couldn't you help us?
I'm a divorce attorney.
I can only help you if you're married to your contractor.
Our scriptwriter never dodges her responsibility.
She's always there to write wonderful scripts for us.
Thank you, Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thanks for listening.
Come back and listen to us again right here on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2015 by the Center for Educational Development.
