Contract lawLesson 2 of 4 in the course Breach and remedies

Damages: Compensation Measures, Award Types, and Gain-Based Remedies

5 flashcards · 4 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

This lesson introduces damages as a legal remedy and explains the basic requirements for proving a claim. It also traces an early historical form of compensation.

In common law, damages are a monetary award paid to a claimant as compensation for loss or injury. They are a remedy for a wrong, not simply a payment made whenever someone experiences an unwanted outcome.

All flashcards

What is proximate cause?
The legal connection required between wrongful conduct and the loss for which a claimant seeks damages.
What is the expectation measure of contract damages?
A measure intended to place the injured party in the economic position they would have occupied if the contract had been performed.
What are special damages?
Damages for quantifiable monetary losses, such as lost earnings, repair costs, or medical expenses.
What are punitive or exemplary damages?
Exceptional damages intended to punish or deter especially wrongful conduct, rather than primarily to compensate.
What was a weregild?
A monetary value assigned under the historical Salic law to a person or property, payable as restitution after injury, death, or theft.

Quiz questions

  1. How are statutory damages generally determined?Answer: By an amount specified in legislation rather than by the precise degree of harm.
  2. What makes a liquidated-damages clause more likely to be enforced under the common-law rule described?Answer: It represents a genuine, good-faith estimate of likely economic loss.
  3. What do general damages primarily compensate?Answer: Non-monetary harm, such as pain, suffering, and loss of amenity.
  4. How are restitutionary damages measured?Answer: By the defendant’s gain from the wrongdoing.

Based on the Wikipedia article Damages, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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