Contract Damages (Expectation / Reliance / Restitution)
Remedies · Lesson 10
Contract Damages (Expectation / Reliance / Restitution)
這一課問的是：合約損害最適合何種衡量 — 期待、信賴、或返還？
ActorActObjectStandardConsequence
Issue · what this lesson is really about
Which contract-damages measure best fits — expectation, reliance, or restitution?
這一課問的是：合約損害最適合何種衡量 — 期待、信賴、或返還？
Trigger words & phrases that should flag this issue:
benefit of the bargainreliancerestitutionlost profitsout-of-pocket
Core Terminology · 7 must-know
Tap a card to flip and reveal the meaning.
expectation damages
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Put P where she would have been if contract performed.
期待損害。
reliance damages
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Put P where she would have been absent contract.
信賴損害。
restitution damages
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Disgorge benefits conferred on D.
返還損害。
consequential damages
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Foreseeable losses beyond contract; Hadley limit.
間接損害。
incidental damages
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Reasonable costs of dealing with breach.
附帶損害。
certainty
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Damages proved with reasonable certainty.
確定性。
cost avoided
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Costs P didn't have to incur.
節省成本。
Rule Sentence · the workhorse
Contract damages may be measured by expectation (the benefit of the bargain), reliance (out-of-pocket costs incurred in reliance on the contract), or restitution (benefit conferred on the breaching party); expectation is the default in most cases, subject to the Hadley foreseeability limitation, certainty, and mitigation.
Sentence Anatomy · 5 roles, 5 colors
Every rule sentence breaks into five visual roles.
Actor 行為人plaintiff原告
Act 行為choosing damages measure選擇損害衡量
Object 對象breached contract違約合約
Standard 法律標準expectation / reliance / restitution期待 / 信賴 / 返還
Consequence 後果monetary award金錢賠償
Casebook Snapshot · a real American case
Sullivan v. O'Connor
Holding. In a contract for medical services, the plaintiff may recover reliance damages (medical expenses, pain, and worsening) rather than expectation damages where the latter would be speculative. Reliance damages restore the plaintiff to her pre-contract position.
Why it matters. Sullivan illustrates the flexibility of contract damages: where expectation is too speculative, reliance may be the workable measure.
Sullivan：當期待過於推測時，可用信賴損害。
Common Mistakes · what trips students
✗ expectation 與 reliance 是同義詞。
✓ Different baselines.
基準不同。
✗ restitution 與 reliance 是同義詞。
✓ Restitution = D's gain; reliance = P's investment.
返還 = D 利得；信賴 = P 投入。
Mini IRAC · build the Application
Issue. When D breached a contract to publish P's novel, P had no published works and lost-profits damages would be entirely speculative. What measure of damages?
Rule. Where expectation damages are too speculative to be proved with reasonable certainty, reliance damages may substitute.
Application (model). P is an unpublished author whose lost royalties from the breach are impossible to project with reasonable certainty. P has documented out-of-pocket expenses preparing for publication. Because reliance damages substitute when expectation cannot be proven with reasonable certainty, the fact that P's lost royalties are speculative but P's reliance expenses are documented means reliance damages provide the appropriate measure.
Pick the right element for each blank:
g1.
g2.
g3.
Conclusion. Therefore, P should recover reliance damages — out-of-pocket costs incurred in reliance.
MBE Check · multiple choice
D breached a contract; P had spent $100,000 in reliance and was due $200,000 in expected profits. Which measure maximizes recovery?
Practice Drill · tap to build the rule
Drop the chips here in correct order:
Tap chips to add → tap chips in the target to remove: