Solana Beach Lawyer - Different Types of Compensation You May Be Entitled To
“Recovery” or compensation are terms that describe recoupable losses after a contract have been breached - either money damages or specific recovery. We discuss the differences between money damages and specific recovery and instances where each would be applicable.
Most contracts would have one or two kinds of recovery- Money damages to compensate you for your loss,
or specific performance where one party of a contract is ordered by a court to perform the specific act outlined in the contract. While specific performance can be in the form of any type of forced action, it is usually used to complete a previously established transaction. In most cases, specific performance is the most effective remedy in protecting the other party in the contract.
Depending on the subject of your contract, if you’re the one who would be suing for the enforcement of that contract, most of the time elect your remedy. You might simply just want your money back but sometimes you may want the act to be performed as stated in your agreement.
Specific performance is not a clause that must be built into a contract, rather it is a standing alternative award to monetary payment for any damages a party may have in the breach of a contract.
Orders of such a nature are usually granted when a monetary settlement for damages have been deemed inadequate or in specific land sale cases.
The best example we hear about specific performance is with a home. If you go into a contract to buy a home, for $500,000 but the home is actually worth $750,000 and you got a great deal on the house and the seller changes his or her mind about selling the home to you for the agreed upon price in the contract. You can choose to get your money back or you can choose to follow through with the agreed upon contract and have the seller specifically perform. A judge would have to order that house to be sold, even against the wishes of that seller.
Again, this alternative remedy is discretionary so the availability of this recourse is up to the second party of the contract who has absorbed these damages. Also, there are few instances where this remedy is inappropriate and monetary damages are therefore awarded such as if the specific performance will cause severe hardship to the defendant, if the contract was too vague to be enforced, or the claimant has misbehaved.
So, depending on what it is that you are getting with that contract, you may want to think about if you would rather have the money from the transaction or do you want specific performance instead.
