Chapter 11-9 Other Pecuniary and Intangible Damages

• Jurisdiction: United States

11-9 Other Pecuniary and Intangible Damages

11-9:1 Loss of Credit or Injury to Credit Reputation

"[A]ctual damages for loss of credit or injury to credit reputation in an action for breach of contract may be recovered when there is evidence that loss of credit was a natural, probable, and foreseeable consequence of the defendant's breach."²⁰³ Loss of credit or injury to credit reputation can also be a compensable injury in tort cases, such as for defamation²⁰⁴ and fraud.²⁰⁵

11-9:2 Reputation Damages to a Corporation

A corporation may recover general damages for loss of reputation, which constitute noneconomic rather than economic damages.²⁰⁶ "[t]hese non-pecuniary damages do not require certainty of actual monetized loss. Instead, they are measured by an amount that 'a reasonable person could possibly estimate as fair compensation.'"²⁰⁷

11-9:3 Reputation and Mental Anguish Damages to an Individual

these noneconomic damages "cannot be determined by mathematical precision; by their nature, they can be determined only by the exercise of sound judgment."²⁰⁸ Compensation for mental anguish can only be assessed for evidence of "substantial disruption in . . . daily routine" or "a high degree of mental pain and distress."²⁰⁹ Mental anguish is recoverable for fraud,²¹⁰ but is rarely compensable in a breach of contract case or a tortious interference with contract case.²¹¹ Damages for mental anguish resulting from the breach of a "special relationship" between the plaintiff and defendant can be compensable when the mental anguish is the necessary and foreseeable result of the defendant's conduct.²¹²

--------

Notes:

^[203] Mead v. Johnson Grp., Inc., 615 S.W.2d 685, 688 (tex. 1981).

^[204] Blanche v. First Nationwide Mortg. Corp., 74 S.W.3d 444, 456 (tex. App.—Dallas 2002, no pet.).

^[205] Duval Cty. Ranch Co. v. Wooldridge, 674 S.W.2d 332, 336 (tex. App.—Austin 1984, no writ).

^[206] Waste Mgmt. of Tex., Inc. v. Tex. Disposal Sys. Landfill, Inc., 434 S.W.3d 142, 149-51 (tex. 2014).

^[207] Waste Mgmt. of Tex., Inc. v. Tex. Disposal Sys. Landfill, Inc., 434 S.W.3d 142, 153 (tex. 2014).

^[208] Bentley v. Bunton, 94 S.W.3d 561, 605 (tex. 2002).

^[209] Parkway Co. v. Woodruff, 901 S.W.2d 434, 444 (tex. 1995).

^[210] Tony Gullo Motors I, L.P. v. Chapa, 212 S.W.3d 299, 304 (tex. 2006).

^[211] Soukup v. Sedgwick Claims Mgmt. Servs., Inc., No. 01-11-00871-CV, 2012 WL 3134223, at *6-7 (tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Aug. 2, 2012, pet. dism'd).

^[212] City of Tyler v. Likes, 962 S.W.2d...