Damages for Breach of Contract

This chapter analyses the basic rule governing the assessment of damages for breach of contract, which emphasizes that no special or different rules apply to construction contracts. It explains that the basic rules have no limits to its application to the amount of loss that can be recovered. It also discusses how limits involve a set of rules which go back to the famous and ancient case of Hadley v Baxendale. This chapter describes the categories of recoverable loss, such as the damages which the other party ought to receive in respect of a breach of contract. It analyses the second limb of the rule in Hadley v Baxendale that relates to special circumstances known to the parties at the time the contract was made.