Also known as: without objections · no objection · unobjected
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An acceptance or acquiescence in a course of performance or conduct that is given legal weight in determining the meaning of an agreement or in satisfying procedural or warranty standards.
Warwick Electronics sold industrial sensors to Wolverine Steel under a contract describing them as standard-grade units. The sensors arrived with minor calibration variances that did not prompt any complaint from Wolverine Steel's receiving department. After installation the sensors failed during production runs. Warwick Electronics defended on the ground that the sensors passed without objection in the trade under the contract description.
Winterhaven Logistics agreed to make weekly deliveries of parts to Woodridge Manufacturing over a three-year period. For eighteen months Woodridge Manufacturing accepted late deliveries without protest and signed the manifests. When a dispute later arose over delivery windows, the court treated the repeated acceptance without objection as strong evidence of the parties' practical understanding of the schedule.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Wanda Weaver filed a motion for temporary custody supported by affidavits detailing the child's living arrangements. Warren Wu received notice but filed no response or objection. The court awarded temporary custody to Wanda Weaver solely on the basis of the affidavits without holding a hearing.
Wayne Walker contracted to supply custom circuit boards to Winterhaven Logistics on a monthly basis. Winterhaven Logistics repeatedly accepted boards that deviated slightly from the written specifications and paid the invoices without protest. When Wayne Walker later sued for breach, the court considered the course of performance accepted without objection in determining the meaning of the specifications.
Willa Whitman owned land adjacent to a railroad track. For many years local residents crossed the right of way on foot without protest from the railroad. When a pedestrian was injured, the railroad argued that the long-standing use without objection established a permissive pathway rather than a trespass.
Wyatt Wilson maintained a fence several feet inside the recorded boundary line of his neighbor's property. The neighbor observed the fence for decades and voiced no objection. When title litigation later arose, the absence of objection over the extended period supported the claim that the fence location reflected the parties' practical understanding of the boundary.
When a contract calls for repeated occasions for performance and one party has knowledge and opportunity to object, acquiescence without objection supplies evidence of the parties' intended meaning. Courts give that course of performance substantial weight in construing ambiguous terms. The rule prevents a party from later insisting on a stricter reading after having silently accepted a different practice.
Supporting sources
Under the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act a court may award temporary custody solely on affidavits if the motion is properly supported and the opposing party raises no objection. The statute dispenses with the hearing requirement only when no objection is filed. If an objection is made the court must conduct a hearing under the standards of Section 402.
Supporting sources
Goods are merchantable only if they pass without objection in the trade under the contract description. A buyer who accepts goods without protest supplies evidence that the goods met that standard at the time of delivery. Later complaints may be weakened by the earlier failure to object when the goods were tendered.
Supporting sources
…prayed time till the next day to consider his answers and the court granted it. The next morning Mr. Lincoln said he had no objection to answer the questions proposed except the last which asked what had been done with the commissions; he did not know that they ever came to the possession of Mr. Madison nor that they were…