Also known as: onerously · burdensome
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Excessively burdensome or troublesome. Causing hardship. The label applies when an obligation or demand imposes weight that outweighs any corresponding benefit or when performance becomes materially more difficult than originally contemplated.
Osprey Aviation served broad requests for every email and lab note created over five years. The court found the requests onerous because the same information was already available in a single summary database that was far more convenient to produce. Production was therefore limited to the database.
Orson Ochoa contracted with a supplier to deliver parts at a fixed price. A competitor deliberately blocked the supplier's access to raw materials, forcing Orson to pay substantially higher freight charges to meet the deadline. The interference made performance onerous and exposed the competitor to liability for the added expense.
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Oakley Osei chartered a vessel until a canal expansion opened a shorter route. Geological instability delayed the expansion for years, yet Oakley could still operate the existing route at comparable cost. Because continued performance was not materially more onerous, the duty to perform remained in force.
A creditor obtained a judgment against Outback Mining but partnership assets proved clearly insufficient. The court permitted execution against a partner's personal assets after finding that further exhaustion efforts would be excessively burdensome. The partner remained liable for the shortfall.
A judgment creditor sought to reach a general partner's personal assets after limited partnership property proved inadequate. The court allowed the levy once it determined that further collection efforts against partnership assets would be excessively burdensome. The general partner became personally liable.
Counsel for Oceanview Properties certified requests for five years of every internal email and database entry. The court found the requests onerous because they ignored prior discovery already produced and the modest amount in controversy. Sanctions followed the improper certification.
A request is onerous when it is unreasonably cumulative or duplicative or when the information can be obtained from a more convenient or less expensive source. Courts must limit such discovery on motion or their own initiative.
Temporary impracticability or frustration suspends performance only while the condition lasts. The duty continues unless resuming performance after the condition ends would be materially more burdensome than originally contemplated.
A court may allow execution against a partner's assets when partnership assets are clearly insufficient, when exhaustion would be excessively burdensome, or when equitable considerations support the order.
…duty, backed by criminal fines and penalties, to keep “exterior portions” of the landmark “in good repair.” Even more burdensome, however, were the strict limitations that were thereupon imposed on Penn Central’s use of its property. At the time Grand Central was designated a landmark, Penn Central was in a…