Yale law professor Ian Ayres examines express conditions in contract performance, part of his American Contract Law series originally recorded for Coursera. The lecture works through In re Carter's Claim, a case involving a party's failing finances and whether a contractual condition was satisfied or excused. Ayres uses the case to show how courts distinguish express conditions from ordinary promises, and what happens when a party's ability to perform is undermined by financial distress. The lecture is one segment within a broader unit on contract performance, following the course's practice of teaching doctrine through close reading of a single case file, which is made available for students to consult alongside the recording. Running about fifteen minutes, it is aimed at law students building toward the fall 2017 Coursera release of the full course.