Chapter 18

Monetary Damages

• Compensatory Damages (money)

• Reliance Damages

• Nominal Damages (symbolic)

• Punitive Damages

• Limitations

• Liquidated Damages

Compensatory damages

• puts plaintiff in position they would have been in before breach

  1. Loss of value (you don’t get damages just from breach you have to prove it)

  • Difference between contract price and market value

  2. Incidental Damages (traveled for interview after breach in other job)

  • costs associated with getting substituted performance

  3. Consequential Damages

  • caused by the breach, but arise from circumstances outside the contract

    • can be limited by contracted ex. “In event of breach we will not be liable for consequential damages”

    • Consequential damages must be “foreseeable” - breached knew/had reason to know that if the K was breached plaintiff would want these damages

Reliance Damages

Damages concurred “in reliance on the K” after entering contract but before performance

Nominal damages (symbolic)

Damages in name only (you win but don’t suffer damages)

Punitive Damages

Punish and deter

Limitations

1. Forseeability

2. Damages have to be proven with “reasonable” certainty

   Ex. A brand new business so you don’t know if they would be successful or not

3. Duty to mitigate

   ex. Comparable employment

Liquidated Damges

• States in contract (“if you breach/fire me damages =__”)

• Must be reasonably related to what actual losses might have been been

Equitable remedies

• Specific performance

• Injunction

• Reformation

Specific performance

• court orders breached to perform

• Subject matter of the contract is unique

  • real estate is presumed unique

  • Goods must be proven “unique”

  • Not for personal service k (court won’t order someone to work if they breach employment k’

Injunction

Court orders party not to do something that would breach a k