ABSTRACT

This chapter considers some general principles that can affect the amount of damages recoverable for breach of contract. If a breach of contract by a defendant is to be held to entitle a claimant to recover damages, it must first be held that the breach was an "effective" or "dominant" cause of his loss. The courts distinguish between a breach that is the cause of a loss and a breach that is merely the occasion for loss. In many cases the court's decision as to whether a loss has been caused by a breach of contract often overlaps with a decision as to whether a loss is too remote to be recoverable. The measure of damages for breach of contract is generally that sum that places the claimant in the same position as if he had received the benefit he expected to receive had the contract been fulfilled. These damages are referred to as "expectation damages".