What kinds of damages can be awarded in a breach of contract lawsuit?
In Florida, a breach of contract lawsuit seeks to put the damaged party back into the position they would’ve been in had the breach never occurred. With that in mind, there are two types of damages. There are compensatory damages and special damages.
Compensatory damages are those damages that flow directly from the breach of contract. For example, if I offer to sell you 10,000 widgets and you offer to give me $10,000 in return, and I give you the 10,000 widgets and you don’t pay me the $10,000, compensatory damages would be that $10,000.
Special damages are the extra damages that flow from that breach. For example, if you knew that I was going to use that $10,000 to pay my rent and my company was going to go out of business if you didn’t pay me that $10,000, I could be entitled to those additional special damages for losing my business, perhaps, based on your non-payment. However, there are certain elements required when proving special damages that you should consult an attorney about.
