When Floridians agree on a contract, the goal is to ensure that the tenets of the agreement are carried out. A contract is useless without remedies. If there is a breach of contract, it’s important to understand what steps can be taken to address the problem.
Remedies and damages are critical aspects of addressing a breach of contract. Those who receive remedies can be awarded damages, restitution, specific performance and have the contract revoked (rescission). There can be compensatory and punitive damages. Under compensatory, the loss from the breach of contract is paid directly. An example of compensatory damages is a refund or reimbursement. Special damages are actual losses that came about indirectly.
Punitive damages are uncommon in a breach of contract. Since “punitive” means a punishment for misconduct that leads to personal harm, it’s meant to serve as an example against whoever has been judged to have done wrong in a willful, malicious or fraudulent way. This will be paid in addition to compensatory damages. To calculate compensatory damages, the contract itself and the losses suffered will be factored in. Standard measure lets the party that did not breach the contract buy a substitute for what was not provided.
There are limits for compensatory damages. The party that did not commit the breach must minimize how much the damages cost. If the damages could have been reasonably avoided or the situation improved following the breach, there can be no damages. The goal of a contract is to ensure that its requirements are met and the parties involved are satisfied with the outcome. If there is a breach of contract and the parties cannot settle it, business litigation may be warranted. A law firm experienced in business cases might be able to help.