FAILURE
failure. 1. Deficiency; lack; want. 2. An omission of an expected action, occurrence, or
performance. See LAPSE(2).
failure of a condition.The nonoccurrence of an event that has been made a condition of the
contract. • The usual result is that one or both of the parties do not have to perform because of the
failure of the condition.
failure of consideration.See FAILURE OF CONSIDERATION.
failure of good behavior.A civil servant’s act that is ground for removal. [Cases: Officers and
Public Employees 69.7. C.J.S. Officers and Public Employees §§ 133, 164–166.]
failure of issue.See FAILURE OF ISSUE.
failure of justice.See MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE.
failure of proof.A party’s not having produced evidence establishing a fact essential to a claim
or defense.
failure of title.A seller’s inability to establish a good claim to the property contracted for sale.
Cf. clear title under TITLE(2). [Cases: Vendor and Purchaser 129(1). C.J.S. Vendor and
Purchaser §§ 314–319, 321–322.]
failure of trust.The invalidity of a trust because the instrument creating it has a defect or
because of its illegality or other legal impediment. [Cases: Trusts 68. C.J.S. Trover and
Conversion §§ 129, 137.]
failure of will.The invalidity of a will that was not executed with necessary statutory
formalities.
failure otherwise than on the merits.The defeat of a plaintiff’s claim by a procedural device
without a decision on the existence of the claim’s elements.
failure to bargain collectively.An employer’s refusal to discuss labor issues with a union.
[Cases: Labor Relations 388. C.J.S. Labor Relations §§ 153–154, 159–160, 391–395, 397.]
failure to claim.Patents. A finding by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or by a court that a patent applicant or patentee has forfeited the right to broader protection by not seeking
protection for some disclosed subject matter. • Any art outside the explicit claims, including
foreseeable alteration of the claimed structure, is considered dedicated to the public domain.
failure to make delivery.Nondelivery or misdelivery.
failure to meet obligations.1.BANKRUPTCY(4).2.INSOLVENCY.
failure to perform.A party’s not meeting its obligations under a contract. See CONTRACT(4).
[Cases: Contracts 261(1), 312(1), 315. C.J.S. Contracts §§ 467, 470, 472, 480, 561.]
failure to state a cause of action.A plaintiff’s not having alleged facts in the complaint
sufficient to maintain a claim. • This failure warrants dismissal of the complaint. [Cases: Pleading
- C.J.S. Pleading §§ 116–124, 132–133.]
failure to testify.A party’s — esp. a criminal defendant’s — decision not to testify. • Under the
Fifth Amendment, the prosecutor and the judge cannot comment to the jury on a criminal
defendant’s failure to testify. But comments on the failure are usu. permissible in a civil case.
[Cases: Criminal Law 317; Evidence 76; Witnesses 88. C.J.S. Criminal Law §§ 641–644,
705–706; Evidence §§ 174–175.][Blacks Law 8th]