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Remedy For Breach
Remedy For Breach
Fortunately, there are a number of potential remedies for breach of contract. These can range
attorneys at the Miller Law Firm can help. We can review your contract and help you pursue a
remedy for breach of contract that will best compensate you for the breach.
Breach Of Contract Topics Covered Here hide
Types of Remedies for Breach of Contract
1. Compensatory Damages
2. Specific Performance
3. Injunction
4. Rescission
5. Liquidated Damages
6. Nominal Damages
The Miller Law Firm: Your Contract Attorneys
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There are several common remedies for breach of contracts. The appropriate remedy depends on
the terms of the contract, the nature of the breach, and the specific circumstances of the case.
Breach of Contract
A breach of contract occurs when one of the parties of the contract do not abide by the terms of
the contract. The breach in a contract happens even when there is a failure in the performance of
the contract. But such breach of contract comes with some remedies which provide the aggrieved
party for the damages. This article deals with the breach of a contract, its types and the remedies for
breach of contract.
Illustration: In the Hochster v. De La Tour, it was decided that if there is a rejection of the contract
before the performance, then claim for the damages can be made. In accordance with that, De la
Tour agrees to employ Hochster as their for 3 months. De La Tour appoints Hochster in April to start
work from June. But De La Tour withdraws the appointment by May. Hochster sues them. De La
Tour argues that Hochster is under the terms or obligation, stating that he should be ready to
perform until the 3 months is due. But Lord Campbell CJ dismisses the argument and awards
Hochster with the damages.
Actual
The refusal to abide by the contract is an actual breach. If one of the party withdraws to perform
before the due date or if he performs incompletely, then he commits a breach.
Illustration: Poussard was to perform opera in the London run for 3 months. The producers found a
substitute when she was ill. The producers refuse to take her back when she returned. The court
was with the producers as it discovered their defence justifiably. The court did not award her with the
damages. The contract claims that she must perform from the first day. Failure to oblige by the
contract made the producers reject her contract.
Liquidated Damages and Penalty: Some contract addresses the issue of breaching its
consequences and also its penalty. If such a contract breaks then the party causing the breach
should pay the stipulated amount mentioned in the contract to the other party. The amount is
reasonable compensation, and it should not exceed the amount given in the contract. The parties
should not have obstacles to make provisions of the liquidated damages.
Special Damages: The aggrieved party must prove the special loses to claim the special damages.
Exemplary or Vindictive Damages: This claim is for the mental suffering or emotional suffering,
such suffering can also be due to the breach. Generally, the court takes care of such damages.
Nominal Damages: A remedy is provided for the breach, which was not there in the actual. It gives
a small remedy, and it is more technical than the actual.
An award of compensatory damages is the most common of the legal remedies for breach of
contract.
The calculation of compensatory damages is based on the actual losses you have sustained as a
result of the breach of contract. They typically fall into two categories: expectation damages and
consequential damages.
Expectation Damages
Expectation damages—also referred to as general damages—are those that directly result from
$100,000. However, the seller backs out of the contract and refuses to sell the bus. The bus
company finds another seller with a similar bus, but they won’t take less than $110,000. In that
case, the expectation damages would be $10,000—the difference between the contract price and
the amount the company had to pay another seller for the same product.
Consequential Damages
Consequential damages are those that flow as a natural consequence of the breach.
Consequential damages often comprises profits that a company lost as a result of the breach.
In the case of the bus example, imagine it took an extra week to secure the new bus. As a result,
the tour company had to turn away 1,000 customers that would have each paid $50 for a bus
tour. In that case, the company could likely recover consequential damages for the $50,000 they
Often the breaching party will attempt to avoid paying consequential damages by claiming that
they are too speculative or that they are not foreseeable. Also, sometimes parties to a contract
may limit or preclude either party from recovering consequential damages. An experienced
attorney can help you combat these arguments and maximize your damages award.
2. Specific Performance
Specific performance is a type of remedy for breach of contract in which a court orders the
Monetary damages are typically favored over specific performance as a remedy for breach of
contract. However, specific performance may be available when monetary damages won’t
adequately compensate you. For example, they may apply to a contract for something that is
company for its loss. But imagine that the new bus had been used previously by a famous singer.
The tour company wanted to use the bus for tours of the singer’s home town. In that case, the
tour company could argue for specific performance rather than monetary damages because no
3. Injunction
Injunctions serve a similar purpose as specific performance. The difference is that with specific
performance, the court orders a party to do something. With an injunction, the court often orders
a party not to do something.
An injunction may be permanent or temporary. Temporary injunctions are often ordered while
litigation is pending to prevent potential damage. For example, in a lawsuit that concerns a
breach of a noncompete contract, a court might order the defendant to cease the allegedly
competitive activity until the lawsuit is resolved. A permanent injunction, as the name suggests,
is permanent. A judge may issue a permanent injunction as part of their final ruling in a lawsuit.
4. Rescission
Rescission allows a nonbreaching party to cancel the contract as a remedy for a breach. Rather
than seeking monetary damages, the nonbreaching party can simply refuse to complete their end
of the bargain. Rescission puts the parties back in the position they would have been in had they
However, to justify rescission, the breach must be material. That means that it has to go to the
For example, imagine that you contract to provide catering services for an event. The contract
requires the other party to pay half the contract price by a certain date, but they never pay.
Since payment goes to the heart of the contract, you would be justified in rescinding the contract
5. Liquidated Damages
Liquidated damages are a specific amount the parties agree to in the contract as compensation for
a breach.
Contracts often use liquidated damages provisions where it might be difficult to calculate the
Real estate purchase agreements and construction contracts commonly rely on liquidated
damages. They might be a specific sum, such as the amount of the earnest money on a purchase
contract. Or they could depend on a formula, such as a certain amount of money for each day a
deadline is not met. Partnership agreements are also likely to include liquidated damages
provisions.
Although courts typically uphold liquidated damages clauses, they may disregard them if the
amount of liquidated damages is drastically smaller or greater than the value of the actual harm
6. Nominal Damages
A court may award nominal damages as a legal remedy for breach of contract when the plaintiff
cannot support their claim for compensatory damages. With nominal damages, the court
While receiving nominal damages may feel like a pyrrhic victory, the plaintiff does get the
benefit of the ruling in their favor. This may be simply a moral victory, or it may pave the way
for the plaintiff to pursue another type of legal action. If the contract has an attorney fee
provision, an award of nominal damages may also enable the plaintiff to seek their attorney fees