Part Two Compensation, s.One General Principles in Assessing Compensatory Damages, 6 Contractual reliance damages

Subject(s):

Remedies for breach of contract — Damages — Interest as damages

This chapter considers the law on damages for breach of contract protecting the reliance interest. For many years, the debate centred on whether the protection of the reliance interest for breach of contract was a more obvious measure of compensation than the usual protection of the claimant’s expectation interest. However, it now seems to be clear that that debate has tended to mislead, and that the idea that protection of the reliance interest is an alternative measure of damages is a myth. The chapter explains this and its implications, including that there can be no escape from a known bad bargain.