Simple English definitions for legal terms
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Expectation damages are a type of compensation that a person can receive if someone breaks a contract. The goal of expectation damages is to make the person who was not at fault feel like they got what they were promised in the contract. This means that they should get back what they gave, plus any extra costs that came up because of the broken contract.
Expectation damages are a type of compensation that can be awarded to the non-breaching party in a contract dispute. The goal of expectation damages is to put the non-breaching party in the same position they would have been in if the breaching party had fulfilled their contractual obligations.
For example, let's say that a homeowner hires a contractor to build a new deck on their house. The contract specifies that the deck will be completed within three months and will cost $10,000. However, the contractor fails to complete the deck on time and the final cost ends up being $12,000. In this case, the homeowner could seek expectation damages to recover the $2,000 difference between what was promised and what was delivered, as well as any additional costs incurred as a result of the breach.
Another example of expectation damages might be a situation where a business hires a consultant to provide advice on a new product launch. The contract specifies that the consultant will deliver a detailed report within two weeks, but the report is not delivered until four weeks later. As a result, the business incurs additional costs and loses potential revenue. In this case, the business could seek expectation damages to recover the costs and lost revenue that resulted from the breach of contract.
Overall, expectation damages are an important tool for ensuring that contracts are fulfilled as promised and that parties are held accountable for any breaches of contract that occur.