§ 13-12 Damages - Duty to Mitigate Damages

• Library: South Carolina Requests to Charge - Civil (SCBar) (2016 Ed.)

§ 13-12 Damages - Duty to Mitigate Damages

A party who has suffered injury or damage from the actionable conduct of another is under a duty to make all reasonable efforts to minimize the damages incurred. To the extent that he reasonably could have so minimized those damages and failed to do so, he is not entitled to recover from the other party. In other words, one cannot recover any damages that might have been avoided by the use of reasonable care and diligence. A plaintiff's failure to mitigate damages allows the defendant to avoid only those damages that reasonably could have been avoided by the plaintiff.

An injured party is required to do that which an ordinary, prudent person would do under similar circumstances to mitigate his damages. However, the injured...