World of Boxing LLC v. King

King (defendant) contracted with World of Boxing (plaintiff) to produce boxer Jones for a rematch against Lebedev, after their prior bout was vacated when Jones tested positive for a banned substance; the new contract required pre-bout drug testing but said nothing about what would happen if a boxer tested positive again. Jones tested positive again on fight day, and the match was cancelled. King argued impossibility, testifying he was shocked and had sincerely believed Jones's awareness of the testing requirement would deter him from using banned substances again.

Whether, for a party to have an impossibility defense to a breach-of-contract claim, the breach must have been caused by an unanticipated event that could not have been guarded against in the contract.