Exam 34: Breach of Contract and Its Remedies

Use this fact situation to answer the questions that follow. You are driving into the north entrance of a parking lot and pull up beside the ticket machine.At the south entrance facing out into the street is a sign that says: "The owners of this lot will not be responsible for any loss or damage however caused to a motor vehicle while parked in this lot." You take a ticket from the machine,park your car,and leave.When you come back,your car has been broken into and its contents stolen.You now wish to sue the parking lot owners. The sign facing out into the street contains

The failure of an innocent party to take steps to reduce the loss arising from a breach of contract is of no consequence at all.

When a breach of contract has occurred,the purpose of damages is to

Construction of the shopping centre was to be completed by October 15 (late penalties were included in the contract)and tenants such as FabricLand would move in by November 1.However,the contractor for the shopping centre was 43 days late in completing and now FabricLand is suing the shopping centre owner for ________ damages,and the shopping centre owner is suing the contractor for ________ damages.

Troy Feldmon agreed to purchase a house from Jenny King for $60 000.Jenny King had previously agreed to sell the house to another individual,but that transaction had not been completed due to the purchaser's default.Jenny was very concerned that steps be taken to ensure Troy was serious about completing the purchase,so she demanded a deposit of $20 000 and that the contract state "in the event that the purchaser does not complete the transaction the entire deposit would be forfeited as liquidated damages." As it happened,Troy was unable to complete the purchase due to an unexpected financial setback.Jenny King then declared the deposit forfeited.Will Troy be able to recover all or part of his deposit?

The doctrine of substantial performance says that there will be rescission if each party does not substantially perform its obligations under the contract.

In contract,the material time for measuring damages is

Alice Munroe entered into a contract with Joe Green for the sale of Alice's car to Joe.Joe's plan was to use the car for parts.After the sale had been completed and the car was partially dismantled,Joe discovered that the transmission had been cannibalized.In other words,some of the transmission parts had been removed.Joe wished to get his money back from Alice.Discuss whether or not he is entitled to his money back.

An express repudiation only occurs when one party to a contract actually tells the other party that it refuses to perform its obligations under the contract.

Exemption clauses are generally strictly construed against the party that is not seeking to rely on them.

An anticipatory breach occurs where a party to a contract fails to perform its obligations under the contract on the date set for performance of the contract.

Explain why it is necessary for an innocent party to mitigate the damages occasioned by a breach of contract.

There are three circumstances when a court will refuse to apply an exemption clause to protect the breaching party from liability.Which of the following is NOT one of these circumstances?

The concepts of unjust enrichment and restitution are part of the gradually expanding development in the area of

Where by reason of a breach of contract an innocent party suffers loss,

A breach of a minor term will not discharge a contract,but a major term that is broken in only a minor respect will discharge a contract.

What is the distinction between a minor breach and a major breach?

In a contract of sale,where the seller fails to deliver goods on time,the measure of damages will normally be

B.C.Metal Works agreed to purchase steel rod from Vancouver Smelters Ltd.Delivery was to take place on April 1.On March 24,Vancouver Smelters advised Metal Works that the steel rod could not be delivered because of production problems.Metal Works accepted the anticipatory breach of Vancouver Smelters and reserved their right to sue for damages.On April 1,Metal Works commenced looking for an alternate supply of steel rod and located a supply in Seattle,Washington.The rods could not be delivered for seven days,causing Metal Works to shut down their operations for three days.Metal Works sued Vancouver Smelters for breach of contract.What legal obligation did Metal Works have,and what remedy would they be entitled to?

Use this fact situation to answer the questions that follow. On January 1,A Co.enters into a contract with B Co.to build a stadium.The date of completion of the contract is August 1.On February 2,A Co.faxes to B Co.a letter that states that it is having problems with its steel girder supplier and that if these continue,it may not be able to complete on time,although it will try to find other suppliers if necessary.On February 15,B Co.enters into a contract with C Co.to build the stadium.On March 1,A Co.,which finally received its shipment of steel girders,attended at the construction site to begin its work only to find C Co.there.In a lawsuit by A Co.against B Co.,B Co.will argue that