Template:Loss v damages: Difference between revisions

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{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Contractual losses and damages, charted
|+ Losses and remedies, charted
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{{aligntop}}
! Thing being compensated for !! [[Contractual damages|General damages]] !! [[Special damages]] !! [[Exemplary damages]] !! [[Account for profit]]
! Loss !! Remedy
{{aligntop}}
{{aligntop}}
| [[Direct loss]] || {{bg|green}}Yes. || {{bg|pink}}No. || {{bg|pink}}No. || {{bg|pink}}No.
| [[Direct loss]] || [[Contractual damages|General damages]]
{{aligntop}}
{{aligntop}}
| [[Consequential loss]]|| {{bg|pink}}No. || {{bg|green}}Yes. But Unlikely. || {{bg|pink}}No. || {{bg|pink}}No.
| [[Consequential loss]]|| [[Special damages]]
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| [[Egregious wrongdoing]]|| {{bg|pink}}No. || {{bg|pink}}No. || {{bg|yellow}}Contract: No. Trust: Maybe. ||{{bg|green}}Yes.
| [[Egregious wrongdoing]]|| [[Exemplary damages]] (potentially available in tort and breach of fiduciary duty; not available in contract)
{{aligntop}}
|[[Breach of trust]] and [[Misuse of property]]|| [[Contractual damages|General damages]] ''and'' [[account for profit]]
|}
|}

Revision as of 10:36, 5 September 2023

Quick reminder: in the law of contract “losses” and “damages are” different, though related things.

Losses are pecuniary misfortunes that you might suffer as a result of a breach of contract. They can be divided into direct losses and indirect, or consequential losses.

Damages are the amounts a court orders a naughty counterparty to pay to an innocent one as compensation for its loss. They may, or may not, be the same amount as the actual losses suffered.

Damages may be general, if they compensate for direct losses, or special, if they relate to indirect losses. (There are also “punitive”, or “exemplary” damages, but these are not available under English law for breach of contract.

Special damages, as compensation for indirect losses, are extremely rare in contract — when they are not ruled out explicitly which, in the world of finance, they usually are.

Losses and remedies, charted
Loss Remedy
Direct loss General damages
Consequential loss Special damages
Egregious wrongdoing Exemplary damages (potentially available in tort and breach of fiduciary duty; not available in contract)
Breach of trust and Misuse of property General damages and account for profit