A common law remedy, damages can be claimed by the injured party as a compensation for the loss suffered as the result of contract breach. The goal is to restore the injured party into a position they would have been in, had the contract breach not occurred (restitutio in intergum). The amount of damages must always be commensurate to the “value” of the loss, which must be assessed objectively, as the value a reasonable person would place on it, as opposed to the value the injured party places on it. This could be demonstrated by someone who suffers a breach of contract and loses out on money and therefore he is awarded damages as a compensation.
Quantum Meruit
Quantum meruit, an “amount earned”, is defined as a reasonable sum of money to be paid for work done. A party to a contract who has performed all or some of their obligations, and where the other party breached or repudiated the contract, may sue for a quantum meruit to recover the amounts earned by performing the work.
Injunctions
In the context of the Contract Law, injunctions –i.e. orders of the court – are generally “prohibitory”, meaning they serve to order a person to refrain from doing certain thing(s). As such, a person who is not doing a certain thing, may be forced by a court injunction to do it. In cases where other remedies are unobtainable, injunctions may be used to obtain a specific contract performance.
Specific Performance
Specific performance is an order of a court requiring a party to carry out specific action or act. Generally specific performance is not decreed if damages are deemed to provide adequate remedy, as equity “follows the law”.
Rectification
Rectification is remedy where a court orders a change to an existing contract, which due to a mutual mistake or other circumstances does not represent the agreement that was intended. Rectification is known as an “equitable remedy” and it seeks for a contract to reflect what it should have said in the first place.
A common law remedy, damages can be claimed by the injured party as a compensation for the loss suffered as the result of contract breach. The goal is to restore the injured party into a position they would have been in, had the contract breach not occurred (restitutio in intergum). The amount of damages must always be commensurate to the “value” of the loss, which must be assessed objectively, as the value a reasonable person would place on it, as opposed to the value the injured party places on it. This could be demonstrated by someone who suffers a breach of contract and loses out on money and therefore he is awarded damages as a compensation.
Quantum Meruit
Quantum meruit, an “amount earned”, is defined as a reasonable sum of money to be paid for work done. A party to a contract who has performed all or some of their obligations, and where the other party breached or repudiated the contract, may sue for a quantum meruit to recover the amounts earned by performing the work.
Injunctions
In the context of the Contract Law, injunctions –i.e. orders of the court – are generally “prohibitory”, meaning they serve to order a person to refrain from doing certain thing(s). As such, a person who is not doing a certain thing, may be forced by a court injunction to do it. In cases where other remedies are unobtainable, injunctions may be used to obtain a specific contract performance.
Specific Performance
Specific performance is an order of a court requiring a party to carry out specific action or act. Generally specific performance is not decreed if damages are deemed to provide adequate remedy, as equity “follows the law”.
Rectification
Rectification is remedy where a court orders a change to an existing contract, which due to a mutual mistake or other circumstances does not represent the agreement that was intended. Rectification is known as an “equitable remedy” and it seeks for a contract to reflect what it should have said in the first place.
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