What are the different types of damages?

There are many types of breach of contract damages you can receive in the event of a breach, 3 min read Liquidation damages are damages that are specifically set out in the contract. They can be included in a contract when damages are difficult to foresee and an estimate of damages is needed in case of default. Therefore, both parties agree on such damages during contract negotiation. However, courts may tend to be hesitant to award compensation for damages they deem excessive.

To avoid this, you'll want any amount of liquidation damages to be reasonable. To help judge this, some state laws restrict the amount of liquidation damages that can be awarded. Punitive damages are damages designed to punish an offending party and deter parties from committing violations. However, these damages are rarely awarded for breaches of contract, although they may be awarded in some tort or fraud cases that overlap with contract cases.

Nominal damages are waived when the injured party did not suffer a monetary loss, but a judge wants to prove that the injured party is right. In general, nominal damages are very small and more symbolic in nature. When filing civil lawsuits, the Plaintiff almost always seeks some form of compensation for a loss he suffered due to the Defendant's wrongful conduct. To understand how much a potential lawsuit may be worth, the plaintiff must first understand the types of damages that are available to them through the courts.

There are several remedies for breach of contract, such as award of damages, specific performance, termination and restitution. In courts of limited jurisdiction, the main remedy is compensation for damages. Because specific compliance and termination are equitable remedies that do not fall within the jurisdiction of magistrates' courts, they are not covered in this tutorial. The standard measure of damages is an amount that would allow the non-infringing party to purchase a substitute for the benefit that would have been received if the contract had been performed.

In cases where the cost of the substitute is speculative, the non-infringing party may recover damages in the amount of the cost incurred in performing that party's obligations under the contract, Contracts for Sale of Goods. Damages are measured by the difference between the contract price and the market price when the seller provides the goods, or when the buyer learns of the violation. Start here with educational and training resources. Find manuals and training for your court.

Look for manuals and training by topic, such as DWI. Judicial Education Center1 University of New MexicoAlbuquerque, NM 87131-0001. The two main types of damages are general and special damages, also known as non-economic and economic damages. A third type of damages, punitive damages, may be awarded in cases where extreme recklessness caused injury. For certain types of injuries, statutes state that successful parties must receive some multiples of their actual damages, for example, cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrian accidents, and other types of vehicle accidents commonly result in a personal injury lawsuit.

There are six common types of damages a person can recover: compensatory, incidental, consequential, nominal, liquidated, and punitive. Now that we've reviewed the types of damages in contract law, let's look at some real-life examples.

Arnold Gentner
Arnold Gentner

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