Template:Grace periods and time of essence
Grace periods and “the essence”
We have heard it argued that time being of the essence might override otherwise carefully negotiated grace periods. When challenged, the counsel in question was tongue-tied for a moment, before mumbling something about litigation over the Lehman administration[1] but could not, ultimately supply any actual authority for this proposition which, in the JC’s opinion, makes no sense at all. Time being of the essence means one should pay exact attention to the time-limits prescribed by a contract, not ignore them. Here, more than anywhere, one should assume the parties meant what they said. That includes the grace periods they so tediously injected into that contract.