WI · jury_instructions
Wis JI-Civil 3048
Time as an Element
The importance of time in connection with the performance of a contract depends
upon the nature of the contract, the terms of the contract, and the circumstances appearing
from the conduct of the parties. Time is not to be regarded as of the essence of the contract
unless it is clear that the parties intended to make it so by their conduct or by the terms on
which they have agreed.
Time is not to be regarded as of the essence of the contract merely because a definite
time for performance is stated in the contract, in the absence of any further provision
regarding the effect of nonperformance at the time stated.
If there is no provision in a contract as to the time for performance, the law will imply
a reasonable time which means a somewhat more protracted time than directly, forthwith, or
as soon as possible.
If you determine that performance at the exact time agreed upon was intended to be of
vital importance to the parties, you may find that time was of the essence so that failure of the
party to perform on time may constitute a breach of contract.
History
Wis JI-Civil 3048 (2016). ©2016, Regents, Univ. of Wis. Prepared by the Wisconsin Civil Jury Instructions Committee of the Wisconsin Judicial Conference with the University of Wisconsin Law School; posted by the Wisconsin State Law Library with the University's permission.
Provenance
- Source
- wilawlibrary.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-24
- Edition
- 2026-09-24
- Content hash
f108b70f0e0d87f15ef2ecca7a2556941d5f677bf0257766f809af00e1d88dce
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Unofficial copy of government-published law, reproduced from official sources with full provenance. Not an official publication; verify against official sources before relying on it in a filing. Records in the 'guidance' corpus, and only that corpus, are sub-regulatory (interpretive guidelines, survey procedures) and are not binding law. Validity bounds follow each jurisdiction's declared temporalBasis.