Also known as: rights to terminate · termination right · right of termination
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A right that permits a party to end an agreement, estate, or other legal relationship upon the occurrence of specified conditions or breach by the other party. The remedy requires the holder to take affirmative steps such as vacating the premises or providing notice to effect termination. It is distinct from rescission because it responds to a breach arising under the contract itself rather than an independent duty.
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Stone Peak leased a training facility from Pine Play. After mold appeared in the locker rooms, the team removed its equipment and vacated mid-season. Its manager telephoned and emailed Pine Play stating the lease must end because of the health hazard. The actions satisfied the requirements for exercising the right because the tenant vacated and gave the landlord direct knowledge of the decision and reason.
Trans Union entered a merger agreement with a Marmon affiliate. The purchaser had until October 10 to obtain satisfactory financing or it could end the deal. No financing commitment arrived by the deadline. The purchaser therefore exercised its contractual right and terminated the merger agreement without liability.
A month-to-month tenant reported housing code violations to authorities. The landlord then served notice to end the tenancy. The tenant argued the termination was retaliatory. The court examined whether the landlord's right to terminate remained absolute or was limited by the tenant's protected activity.
Pennsylvania required a married woman seeking an abortion to notify her spouse. The provision gave the woman a right to terminate the pregnancy but imposed an additional procedural step. The Court assessed whether the notification rule unduly burdened that right.
Texas criminalized most abortions. A woman challenged the statute claiming it violated her right to terminate a pregnancy. The Court evaluated whether the Constitution protected that right against state prohibition in the early stages of pregnancy.
Mississippi enacted a law banning most abortions after fifteen weeks. A clinic challenged the statute as an unconstitutional restriction on the right to terminate a pregnancy. The Court considered whether the Constitution continued to protect that right against state regulation.
The tenant must vacate the property while the right exists, follow any lease provisions on termination method, and if none exist, take reasonable steps to inform the landlord of the decision and reason. These requirements ensure the landlord receives clear notice that the lease has ended.
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The right to terminate ends contractual relations when the other party breaches a duty arising under the contract. Rescission applies when the breach involves a duty independent of the contract. The distinction determines available remedies and whether restitution is required.
…disfavor than under most American statutes currently in effect. Phrasing it another way, a woman enjoyed a substantially broader right to terminate a pregnancy than she does in most States today. At least with respect to the early stage of pregnancy, and very possibly without such a limitation, the opportunity to make this choice was…
…finds no refuge in a jurisprudence of doubt. Yet, 19 years after our holding that the Constitution protects a woman’s right to terminate
…special meeting expected to be held sometime during December or early January. Until October 10, 1980, the purchaser has the right to terminate the merger if financing that is satisfactory to the purchaser has not been obtained, but after that date there is no such
…a wholly owned subsidiary, Burlington proposed to purchase 25.1 million El Paso shares at $24 per share. Burlington reserved the right to terminate
…tenant and was free to do so for any reason or for no reason at all.[^maj-4] The court acknowledged that the landlord's right to terminate
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Under traditional common law a power of termination is not alienable inter vivos. It may pass by descent or devise but an attempted assignment conveys nothing and leaves the assignee without standing to enforce the right.
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Statutory merger provisions vest contract rights in the survivor without a transfer. If the clause prohibits only transfers the merger does not activate the termination right. The landlord may still argue the change in tenant identity breaches the clause if the language is broad enough.
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The approval must match the economic arrangement the partners contemplated. A heavily conditioned or revocable document that substantially alters project costs and retains a termination right does not prevent dissolution under the agreement.
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