CONTRACTS-DUTY TO MITIGATE DAMAGES UPON ANTICIPATORY BREACH OF FORWARD CONTRACT OF SALE

Authors

William F. Snyder, University of Michigan Law SchoolFollow

Abstract

The theory of our law in regard to damages for breach of contract has been to give the innocent party as nearly as possible what he would have received had the contract been performed. To this end, our courts have worked out a rough formula which has been described by Professor Grismore as follows:

" ... The promisee is, in general, entitled to recover the economic equivalent of the performance promised, at the time and place fixed in the contract, plus any losses incurred or gains prevented through not receiving it, less any savings that have resulted to the promisee from not having to perform his own undertakings under the contract."

In the case of contracts of sale, this formula can be expressed in the ordinary situation as the difference between contract price and market price at the time and place for delivery. The authorities are reasonably in accord on this proposition. Expressions indicating market at time of breach as the true measure can often be explained by the fact that market at breach and market at time for performance are identical and used interchangeably by the courts.

Recommended Citation

William F. Snyder, CONTRACTS-DUTY TO MITIGATE DAMAGES UPON ANTICIPATORY BREACH OF FORWARD CONTRACT OF SALE, 47 Mich. L. Rev. 538 (1949).
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol47/iss4/4