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SATISFACTORYPERFORMANCESometimes one person willagree to perform servicesfor another “to the other’ssatisfaction.” In such asituation, if a party isdissatisfied with theservices performed by theother party, can that partyrefuse to comply with thepayment terms ofthe contract?reasonable time for selling a crate of ripe tomatoes would not be thesame as the reasonable time for selling a house.If the parties specify a time limit for carrying out the terms of thecontract, the court will usually allow a longer time for performanceunless time is of the essence. Time is of the essence when it is a vital oressential element of the contract.Example 1. Carol Wolloff contracted Peter Miles to paint herhouse. As part of the agreement, Peter promised to begin the jobon or before June 1. He showed up on June 3 to do the job. Acourt would probably excuse his tardiness because there wasnothing to show that time was of the essence.However, if the agreement said that Peter was to finish the job byJune 10 because Carol was having a party on June 12, a court wouldlikely enforce the time period because the contract implied that timewas of the essence.Example 2. The Seasons Store agreed to buy 5,000 chocolaterabbits from Northern Confectioneries. The contract specifiedthat delivery was to be made three weeks before Easter and statedthat time was of the essence. The rabbits arrived just one weekbefore Easter, by which time Seasons had ordered and receivedsubstitute products from another supplier. Seasons refused thelate delivery of rabbits. The court would probably uphold SeasonsStore’s refusal.Chapter 11: How Contracts Come to an End 225