Remedies (Contract) Flashcards

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1
Q

What is the purpose of damages?

A
  • To put the victim in the same position they would have been in if the contract had been performed
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2
Q

What are pecuniary losses?

A
  • financial losses that result from a breach of contract
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3
Q

What are non-pecuniary losses?

A
  • Non financial losses such as mental distress, disappointment and humiliation
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4
Q

Are non-pecuniary losses compensated?

A
  • Not traditionally, but this rule has been relaxed for contracts which are specifically for pleasure, relaxation and peace of mind
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5
Q

Name three key cases for non-pecuniary losses

A
  • Jarvis v Swan Tours Ltd (1973)
  • Farley v Skinner (2001)
  • Ruxley Electronics v Forsyth (1995)
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6
Q

What was decided in Jarvis v Swan Tours Ltd (1973)?

A
  • Where a contract entered for the specific purpose of the provision of enjoyment or entertainment, damages may be awarded for the disappointment, distress, upset and frustration caused by said breach
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7
Q

What happened in Farley v Skinner (2001)?

A
  • Skinner told Farley that the property he wanted to buy wasn’t affected by aircraft noise, when it was
  • As Farley had asked specifically about noise, the report was sub-standard and in breach of contract
  • Sought damages for the diminution in enjoyment of his property
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8
Q

What three things must a court decide before it can award damages?

A
  • Causation
  • Foreseeability
  • Mitigation of loss (did the claimant do all they could?)
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9
Q

What is a key case in causation (in terms of breach of contract)?

A
  • Quinn v Burch Bros (Builders) Ltd (1966)
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10
Q

What was decided in Quinn v Burch Bros (Builders) Ltd (1966)?

A
  • A person will only be liable for losses caused by their breach of contract
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11
Q

Name three key cases that concern remoteness (breach of contract)

A
  • Hadley v Baxendale (1854)
  • Transfield Shipping v Mercator Shipping (2008)
  • Wiseman v Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd (2006)
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12
Q

What precedent was set in in Hadley v Baxendale (1854)?

A
  • Set the precedent that a defendant will only be liable for such losses as were “reasonably foreseeable” as arising from the breach
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13
Q

What was decided in Pilkington v Wood (1953)?

A
  • Claimants are under a duty to mitigate their loss
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14
Q

What are the 4 different types of losses one can recover in contract law?

A
  • Loss of expectation
  • Reliance loss
  • Restitution
  • Quantum Meruit
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15
Q

What is expectation loss?

A
  • The innocent party’s loss of a bargain, such as the profit that it would have received had the contract been fulfilled
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16
Q

What is the aim when one is suing for loss of expectation? In what two ways is this achieved?

A
  • To put the claimant in the same financial position as if the contract had been performed
    • The difference in value between the goods or services indicated in the contract and those actually delivered (where they are of inferior value ofc)
    • The difference between the contract price and the price obtained in an “available market”
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17
Q

What are the two types of loss of expectation?

A
  • Loss of profit

- Loss of chance

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18
Q

Name a case that illustrates loss of chance

A
  • Chaplin v Hicks (the model one)
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19
Q

What is restitution?

A
  • A repayment to the claimant of any money or benefits passed to the defendant in advance of the contract
20
Q

Restitution, in theory, could be available where there is no contract. Give three reasons why there may not be a contract

A
  • A contract may not have been made yet
  • The contract may have been discharged
  • The contract may have been void
21
Q

What happened in Fibrosa Spolka Akcyjna v Fairbarn Lawson (1943)?

A
  • Restitution, as contract frustrated due to illegality
22
Q

What is reliance loss?

A
  • The expenses incurred by the claimant in reliance of the contract being performed
23
Q

What is the aim of damages for reliance loss?

A
  • To put the claimant in the position they would have been in had the contract never been made
24
Q

Name a case that illustrates reliance loss

A
  • Anglia Television Ltd v Reed (1972)
25
Q

Can a claimant claim for both loss of expectation and loss of reliance?

A
  • No, they are mutually exclusive
26
Q

Which is more common: loss of expectation or loss of reliance?

A
  • Loss of expectation
27
Q

What was decided in Hunt v Silk (1804)?

A
  • If the party has received anything under the contract, restitution is impossible
28
Q

What is quantum meruit?

A
  • Recovery of an unqualified sum in respect of services already rendered
29
Q

What are the three common circumstances where quantum meruit damages are awarded? What cases decided these circumstances?

A
  • Where there is a contract for services that is silent on the issue of remuneration
    • Upton RDC v Powell (1942)
  • Where the circumstances of the case shows that a fresh agreement can be implied in place of the original one
    • Steven v Bromley (1919)
  • Where a party has been elected to consider the contract discharged by the other’s breach, or where a party has been prevented from performing by the other party. In either case they might claim for work they have already done
    • De Barnady v Harding (1853)
30
Q

Price not specified?

A
  • Quantum Meruit
31
Q

What is meant by equitable remedies?

A
  • The courts will not enforce a decision that is unfair
32
Q

What is an order of specific performance?

A
  • An order compelling one side of the contract to perform their obligations under that contract
33
Q

What are the three conditions of special performance? What case illustrated each?

A
  • Damages must be inadequate
    • Beswick v Beswick (1968)
  • It must not cause any hardship to the defendant
    • Patel v Ali (1984)
  • The contract must be made fairly
    • Waiters v Morgan (1861)
34
Q

In what three cases can specific performance not be ordered?

A
  • Contracts involving personal services
  • Contracts which involve continuous duties
  • Contracts that are vague as to the performance required
35
Q

What does an injunction do?

A
  • Compels the defendant to do/refrain from a particular thing
36
Q

Name four key cases for injunctions

A
  • Warner Bros Pictures v Nelson (1937)
  • Page One Records v Britton (1968)
  • Warren v Mendy (1989)
  • Lauritzencool AB v Lady Navigation (2005)
37
Q

What was held in Warner Bros Pictures v Nelson (1937)?

A
  • Actress breached contract by acting for another

- An injunction was granted, but only for acting (otherwise the girl wouldn’t be able to get a job)

38
Q

What was held in Page One Records Ltd v Britton (1968)?

A
  • Injunction to stop pop group ending contract with manager refused as the group would have to work with the same manager, or not at all - it would be like ordering specific performance for a contract involving personal services
39
Q

What was held in Warren v Mendy (1989)?

A
  • Boxer wanted to split with manager
  • Old manager sought injunction against new manager
  • Denied - courts will not force working relationships
40
Q

What was held in Lauritzencool AB v Lady Navigation (2005)?

A
  • Injunctions don’t exist to enforce general performance of a service, only to prevent a specific breach of contract
41
Q

What happened in Ruxley Electronics v Forsyth (1995)? What was the claimant able to recover?

A
  • The claimant was able to recover a sum, not just to reflect that the swimming pool he had contracted to have built was not of the depth contracted for, but also that he felt ‘unsafe’ when diving into the pool as a result of the shallow depth
42
Q

What happened in County Limited v Girozentrale Securities (1996)? What is this a key case for?

A
  • Investment advice led to a financial loss, which was made worse by other events, such as an economic downturn as well as the drop in value of the shares concerned
43
Q

Give two cases for mitigation of loss

A
  • Brace v Calder (1895)

- British Westinghouse Electric Co Ltd v Underground Electric (1912)

44
Q

What happened in Brace v Calder (1895)? What was held?

A
  • The claimant was a partner in a business that was dissolved. Two remaining partners offered to re-employ the claimant on the same terms as before, but the claimant refused, and sued on the basis that the original dissolution of the partnership had rendered him unemployed
  • HELD - This was an unreasonable refusal to mitigate losses by refusing an offer of employment from the defendants
45
Q

What happened in British Westinghouse Electric Co Ltd v Underground Electric (1912)? What was held?

A
  • A contract for the purchase of turbines was broken when the equipment supplied proved to be inefficient. The defendants then replaced these with better ones that helped to save the claimants costs over a time, but they still sued for the original breach of contract
  • HELD - There were no real losses to recover here, except for the period of time that it took for the defendants to replace the faulty turbines