If an owner is one day late on a progress payment and the contractor ceases all work with no intent to return, what type of breach has the contractor committed?

When an owner is late on a payment, the contractor has specific obligations under the contract to determine how to respond. If the contractor ceases all work and shows no intent to return, this act constitutes a material breach of contract. A material breach is a significant violation that goes to the essence of the contract, fundamentally undermining its purpose. In this case, the contractor's complete cessation of work in response to the owner's late payment significantly impacts the project and the owner's rights under the contract.

Since the contractor has effectively abandoned the contract by stopping all work, this goes beyond minor inconveniences or small delays in performance. In contrast, a minor breach may involve trivial issues that can be remedied without drastically affecting the contract's overall execution. Additionally, immaterial breaches are those that do not impact the contract's larger goals, and unjust breach is not a recognized legal term. The severity of the situation here, where the contractor halts all activities, convincingly places it as a material breach.