The main causation issue in breach of contract cases tends to arise where some event or the actions of someone other than the defendant intervenes between the time of breach and the time of loss with the result that the defendant’s breach cannot be regarded as the cause of the loss suffered by the claimant. For example, where the defendant is required by his contract to make a ship available in July, but is late in doing so, and the vessel is damaged in a typhoon, it would be difficult to say that the breach of contract is the cause of the damage complained of. In these circumstances, there are difficult policy issues for the reason that if an intervening natural event is held to break the chain of causation, unless the claimant is insured against the risk of loss in question, he will have no one else to recover from if the defendant is exonerated. The intervening event may also be the voluntary act of a third party and provided it is not readily foreseeable, that act may break the chain of

doi:10.4324/9781843141518-246

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The main causation issue in breach of contract cases tends to arise where some event or the actions of someone other than the defendant intervenes between the time of breach and the time of loss with the result that the defendant’s breach cannot be regarded as the cause of the loss suffered by the claimant. For example, where the defendant is required by his contract to make a ship available in July, but is late in doing so, and the vessel is damaged in a typhoon, it would be difficult to say that the breach of contract is the cause of the damage complained of. In these circumstances, there are difficult policy issues for the reason that if an intervening natural event is held to break the chain of causation, unless the claimant is insured against the risk of loss in question, he will have no one else to recover from if the defendant is exonerated. The intervening event may also be the voluntary act of a third party and provided it is not readily foreseeable, that act may break the chain of

ABSTRACT

The main causation issue in breach of contract cases tends to arise where some event or the actions of someone other than the defendant intervenes between the time of breach and the time of loss with the result that the defendant’s breach cannot be regarded as the cause of the loss suffered by the claimant. For example, where the defendant is required by his contract to make a ship available in July, but is late in doing so, and the vessel is damaged in a typhoon, it would be difficult to say that the breach of contract is the cause of the damage complained of.3 In these circumstances, there are difficult policy issues for the reason that if an intervening natural event is held to break the chain of causation, unless the claimant is insured against the risk of loss in question, he will have no one else to recover from if the defendant is exonerated.