The Minimum Performance Rule in Contract Damages
17 Pages Posted: 20 Nov 2019 Last revised: 13 Dec 2019
Date Written: November 18, 2019
Abstract
This article challenges the long-standing rule concerning the assessment of damages for breach of contract that, where the contract allows for alternative methods of performance by the promisor, damages are to be calculated by reference to the minimum level of performance provided for in the terms of the contract. It is argued that the rule is inconsistent with the compensatory principle and that, since it has been undermined by various qualifications or exceptions that severely curtail its operation, it would improve the coherence of the law of damages if it were abandoned.
Keywords: minimum performance rule, breach of contract, damages
JEL Classification: K12
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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