Unit 8 – Remedies
The penultimate Town Hall!
Damages
Two Types of Remedies
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Monetary – Suits “at law”
Equitable – Suits “in equity”
Types of Monetary Damages
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Compensatory
Punitive
Nominal
Consequential
Liquidated Damages
5 Rules for Compensatory Damage
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Damages must be “foreseeable”
Parties must understand that
damages follow a breach
Damages must be specific
Mitigation
Damages should not exceed total of
contract
Punitive Damages
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Rarely used in contract cases
Why do you think?
Nominal Damages
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Why would the court award $1 to a
Plaintiff?
Consequential Damages
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Can include damage that occurred
as a result of the breach.
Liquidated Damages
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A provision in the contract that
limits certain types of damages in
the event of a breach.
UCC addresses liquidated damages
as well.
UCC 2-718
§ 2-718. Liquidation or Limitation of Damages; Deposits.
(1) Damages for breach by either party may be liquidated in the agreement but only at an
amount which is reasonable in the light of the anticipated or actual harm caused by the
breach, the difficulties of proof of loss, and the inconvenience or nonfeasibility of otherwise
obtaining an adequate remedy. A term fixing unreasonably large liquidated damages is void
as a penalty.
(2) Where the seller justifiably withholds delivery of goods because of the buyer's breach,
the buyer is entitled to restitution of any amount by which the sum of his payments exceeds
(a) the amount to which the seller is entitled by virtue of terms liquidating the seller's
damages in accordance with subsection (1), or
(b) in the absence of such terms, twenty per cent of the value of the total performance for
which the buyer is obligated under the contract or $500, whichever is smaller.
(3) The buyer's right to restitution under subsection (2) is subject to offset to the extent
that the seller establishes
(a) a right to recover damages under the provisions of this Article other than subsection (1),
and
(b) the amount or value of any benefits received by the buyer directly or indirectly by reason
of the contract.
(4) Where a seller has received payment in goods their reasonable value or the proceeds of
their resale shall be treated as payments for the purposes of subsection (2); but if the seller
has notice of the buyer's breach before reselling goods received in part performance, his
resale is subject to the conditions laid down in this Article on resale by an aggrieved seller
(Section 2-706).
Equitable Relief
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When money just won’t do it…
How do you get equitable relief?
It’s not easy. You have to show that:
 There is no adequate remedy at law
 There will be irreparable harm
 The contract is valid
 The contract is clear and
unambiguous
 The plaintiff has “clean hands”
Types of Equitable Relief
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Injunction
Specific Performance
Reformation – only if a mistake in
the contract
Recission – usually only in the event
of fraud or undue influence
Assignment
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In our townhall this week we will consider the
case of:
DeMoss v. Conart Motor Co. 72 N.E. 2d 158 (Ohio
1947).
What was the remedy awarded to the plaintiff?
Could the time period in which this case was
brought have anything to do with
the type of damages awarded?
If you ordered a car today, and the dealer
breached the contract, would your
damages likely be like those in the DeMoss
case? Why or why not?