{"id":1332,"date":"2019-11-22T14:32:18","date_gmt":"2019-11-22T14:32:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/reasonable-efforts-vs-best-efforts-whats-the-difference\/"},"modified":"2019-11-22T14:32:18","modified_gmt":"2019-11-22T14:32:18","slug":"reasonable-efforts-vs-best-efforts-whats-the-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/reasonable-efforts-vs-best-efforts-whats-the-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Reasonable Efforts vs. Best Efforts \u2013 What\u2019s the Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In business <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/contracts-say-what-you-mean-and-mean-what-you-say\/\">contracts<\/a>,\ndo you know the difference between reasonable efforts vs. best efforts? Business\ncontracts frequently impose obligations on the parties to accomplish\u2014or at\nleast attempt to accomplish\u2014certain tasks in the future.&nbsp; For example, a builder may be obligated to\nuse <em>reasonable efforts<\/em> to obtain a permit.&nbsp; But what if the agreement obligated that same\nbuilder to use its <em>best efforts<\/em> to get a permit?&nbsp; Is there a difference?&nbsp; Should someone obligated to use \u201cbest\nefforts\u201d to accomplish something be held to a higher standard than someone\nobligated to use \u201creasonable efforts\u201d to accomplish the same thing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Federal and state case law on this issue\nis all over the map, which only adds to the confusion.&nbsp; No Georgia precedent or court decisions resolves\nthe confusion between \u201cbest\u201d and \u201creasonable\u201d efforts. In his quest for clarity,\nKenneth A. Adams, Esq., lawyer, author and contract drafting provocateur\nsquarely addresses this issue in his excellent article, Interpreting &amp;\nDrafting Efforts Provisions:&nbsp; From\nUnreason To Reason, which you can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.adamsdrafting.com\/my-law-review-article-interpreting-and-drafting-efforts-provisions\/\">access\nhere<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Reasonable Efforts vs. Best Efforts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr. Adams proposes an elegant solution:\u00a0 ignore the purported distinction and apply a \u201creasonable\u201d standard to all \u201cefforts\u201d clauses.\u00a0 Basically, Adams argues that it is unreasonable to require someone to do more than is reasonable in a given situation.\u00a0 To further simplify matters, <em>reasonable efforts<\/em> is a well settled standard:\u00a0 what would a reasonable person in a similar situation do?\u00a0 Alternatively, <em>best efforts<\/em> is subjective and may lead to disagreement, both on the streets and in the courtroom.\u00a0 How do you know when an effort is \u201cbest\u201d?\u00a0 Is merely \u201cbetter\u201d good enough?\u00a0 Subjectivity sows confusion, where certainty and consistency is preferred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why is this distinction important?&nbsp; The purpose of writing down the terms of a\ncontract is so that the parties know what is expected of them and so they know what\nthey can expect from other parties.&nbsp; In\nthe event of a dispute, written agreements also enable judges and juries to\nunderstand what the parties agreed to before they became disagreeable.&nbsp; The ambiguous nature of \u201cbest\u201d does not\nfacilitate either of these purposes.&nbsp; If\nyou expect a party with whom you are contracting to do something that some might\nconsider to go \u201cabove and beyond\u201d what is reasonable, or if someone requires\nsuch an extra effort from you, consider spelling out precisely what is expected\nto avoid confusion and confrontation later.&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A good lawyer can help business owners understand,\ndraft and negotiate contractual rights. \n\nAs always, <a href=\"mailto:wpiercy@bfvlaw.com\">let\nme know<\/a> if I can help.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In business contracts, do you know the difference between reasonable efforts vs. best efforts? Business contracts frequently impose obligations on the parties to accomplish\u2014or at least attempt to accomplish\u2014certain tasks in the future.&nbsp; For example, a builder may be obligated to use reasonable efforts to obtain a permit.&nbsp; But what if the agreement obligated that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1333,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mo_disable_npp":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,8],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Reasonable Efforts vs. Best Efforts \u2013 What\u2019s the Difference? - Berman Fink Van Horn P.C.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In business contracts, do you know the difference between reasonable efforts vs. best efforts?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bfvlaw.com\/reasonable-efforts-vs-best-efforts-whats-the-difference\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reasonable Efforts vs. Best Efforts \u2013 What\u2019s the Difference? 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