A waiver of contract occurs when a party to a contract waives or gives up one or more rights or benefits it has under the terms of the contract. A party generally does not waive its rights unless the waiver is made voluntarily and with knowledge of the rights being waived—known as a “knowing and voluntary relinquishment of rights.”

Contracts often include a non-waiver paragraph or provision stating that a party’s (or the parties’) failure to pursue or exercise certain rights under the contract does not constitute a waiver of those or other rights under the contract. Such non-waiver provisions are common in insurance contracts and other commercial contracts.

In South Carolina, a waiver of contract rights must be made knowingly and voluntarily, which means that the party waiving the rights must do so with full awareness and intention to relinquish specific rights or benefits under the contract. This aligns with the general legal principle that waivers should not be presumed lightly and must be clearly established by the party asserting the waiver. Non-waiver clauses are frequently included in contracts to clarify that the failure to enforce a right or provision at one time does not result in the waiver of that right for future enforcement. These clauses help to protect parties from inadvertently losing their rights due to inaction or oversight. South Carolina courts will generally enforce non-waiver provisions as long as they are clearly stated within the contract, and the conduct of the parties does not overwhelmingly demonstrate an intent to waive the rights in question. It is important for parties to a contract to understand the implications of such clauses and to act accordingly to preserve their contractual rights.