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In law, void means of no legal effect. An action, document, or transaction which is void is of no legal effect whatsoever: an absolute nullity—the law treats it as if it had never existed or happened. The term void ab initio, which means "to be treated as invalid from the outset", comes from adding the Latin phrase ab initio (from the beginning) as a qualifier. For example, in many jurisdictions where a person signs a contract under duress, that contract is treated as being void ab initio. The frequent combination "null and void" is a legal doublet.
The term is frequently used in contradistinction to the term "voidable" and "unenforceable".
Definitions
Black's Law Dictionary defines 'void' as "[n]ull; ineffectual; nugatory; having no legal force or binding effect...." In the case of a contract, this means there is no legal obligation, therefore there can be no breach of contract since the contract is null, but there may be an implied contract which requires the recipient of goods or services provided to pay their reasonable value.
A contract that is void is no longer legally enforceable. A contract may be voidable if there are grounds upon which a party to the contract may avoid or disaffirm their duties of performance, but does not become void until that option is exercised. A contract is void ab initio, or from the beginning, if it is for an illegal purpose or if it offends public policy, and such a contract may not be enforced through the courts.
Significance
The significance of this usually lies in the possibility of third party rights being acquired in good faith. For example, in Cundy v Lindsay (1878), a fraudster using the name Blenkarn posed as a retailer and induced Lindsay & Co to deliver 250 dozen linen handkerchiefs to him. Blenkarn then sold the handkerchiefs on to an innocent third party, Cundy, but Lindsay was never paid. Lindsay, claiming ownership of the handkerchiefs, sued Cundy for their return. If the contract of sale to Blenkarn was held to be voidable for fraud, then Lindsay & Co would only have recourse against the insolvent Blenkarn. However, if (as was held) the contract of sale was void ab initio, then the title did not pass from Lindsay to Blenkarn in the first place, and Lindsay could claim back the handkerchiefs from Cundy as their property. Cundy was left with only a claim against the insolvent Blenkarn.
In every case, third parties involved with bad faith in void or voidable contracts not only are affected by nullity, but may also be liable for statutory damages.
However, the right to avoid a voidable transaction can be lost (usually lost by delay). These are sometimes referred to as "bars to rescission". Such considerations do not apply to matters affected by absolute nullity, or void ab initio.
See also
- Legal nullity
References
- Black, Henry Campbell; Nolan, Joseph R.; Connolly, Michael J. (1979). Black's law dictionary: definitions of the terms and phrases of American and English jurisprudence, ancient and modern (5th ed.). St. Paul: West Pub. Co. p. 1573. ISBN 9780829920451.
- U.S. Comptroller General, B-211213: The Department of Labor -- Request for Advance Decision, published 21 April 1983, accessed 1 September 2022
- Schaefer, Jesse A. (2010). "Beyond a Definition: Understanding the Nature of Void and Voidable Contracts". Campbell Law Review. 33: 193.
This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these messages This article may be in need of reorganization to comply with Wikipedia s layout guidelines Please help by editing the article to make improvements to the overall structure November 2014 Learn how and when to remove this message This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Void law news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2011 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message In law void means of no legal effect An action document or transaction which is void is of no legal effect whatsoever an absolute nullity the law treats it as if it had never existed or happened The term void ab initio which means to be treated as invalid from the outset comes from adding the Latin phrase ab initio from the beginning as a qualifier For example in many jurisdictions where a person signs a contract under duress that contract is treated as being void ab initio The frequent combination null and void is a legal doublet The term is frequently used in contradistinction to the term voidable and unenforceable DefinitionsBlack s Law Dictionary defines void as n ull ineffectual nugatory having no legal force or binding effect In the case of a contract this means there is no legal obligation therefore there can be no breach of contract since the contract is null but there may be an implied contract which requires the recipient of goods or services provided to pay their reasonable value A contract that is void is no longer legally enforceable A contract may be voidable if there are grounds upon which a party to the contract may avoid or disaffirm their duties of performance but does not become void until that option is exercised A contract is void ab initio or from the beginning if it is for an illegal purpose or if it offends public policy and such a contract may not be enforced through the courts SignificanceThe significance of this usually lies in the possibility of third party rights being acquired in good faith For example in Cundy v Lindsay 1878 a fraudster using the name Blenkarn posed as a retailer and induced Lindsay amp Co to deliver 250 dozen linen handkerchiefs to him Blenkarn then sold the handkerchiefs on to an innocent third party Cundy but Lindsay was never paid Lindsay claiming ownership of the handkerchiefs sued Cundy for their return If the contract of sale to Blenkarn was held to be voidable for fraud then Lindsay amp Co would only have recourse against the insolvent Blenkarn However if as was held the contract of sale was void ab initio then the title did not pass from Lindsay to Blenkarn in the first place and Lindsay could claim back the handkerchiefs from Cundy as their property Cundy was left with only a claim against the insolvent Blenkarn In every case third parties involved with bad faith in void or voidable contracts not only are affected by nullity but may also be liable for statutory damages However the right to avoid a voidable transaction can be lost usually lost by delay These are sometimes referred to as bars to rescission Such considerations do not apply to matters affected by absolute nullity or void ab initio See alsoLegal nullityReferencesBlack Henry Campbell Nolan Joseph R Connolly Michael J 1979 Black s law dictionary definitions of the terms and phrases of American and English jurisprudence ancient and modern 5th ed St Paul West Pub Co p 1573 ISBN 9780829920451 U S Comptroller General B 211213 The Department of Labor Request for Advance Decision published 21 April 1983 accessed 1 September 2022 Schaefer Jesse A 2010 Beyond a Definition Understanding the Nature of Void and Voidable Contracts Campbell Law Review 33 193
