Breach of Contract Lawyer

Courts will most commonly award damages in the case of a breach of contract. The amount of damages will be calculated based on what would be required to put the party suffering a loss in the position they would have in had the contract been performed. For example, if a buyer were to back out of a real estate transaction, in breach of the Agreement of Purchase and Sale, the seller may not be able to find another buyer who will purchase the property for the same price. If the seller is forced to take a loss, a court may order the original buyer to pay the difference to the buyer. In particularly egregious cases, a party in breach may also be ordered to pay additional damages above and beyond the loss itself.

A prohibitory injunction may be ordered to restrain a party from breaching a contract. This may be ordered on an interlocutory (temporary) basis, while the court assesses the full merits of a case; it may also be permanent.

The criteria to establish that an injunction is necessary is stringent.

The claimant must establish certain elements, including that it would suffer irreparable harm if the court refused to grant the injunction.

Specific performance is an equitable remedy allowing a court to order a party to fulfill its obligation under a contract.

Referring back to the example above, rather than awarding damages, the court could order the party to purchase the house as agreed.

This remedy is commonly used when the aggrieved party would have been entitled to a particularly unique benefit under a contract that money could not replace.