This article discusses instances where parties’ actions during the life of a contract can influence a court’s future interpretation of the contract’s terms, or, in some cases, even waive a contract term. While this article doesn’t examine every situation where this might occur, it highlights two different situations that general contractors need to be aware of.

First, this article explains the idea of “course of performance.” If litigation arises and a contract provision is subject to multiple interpretations, then the parties’ actions during the life of the contract can be used to interpret the provision. This can lead to unexpected outcomes or different results for one (or both) of the parties to the dispute.