§15.2 Preliminary Matters

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§15.2 PRELIMINARY MATTERS

The primary objective of awarding contract damages is to place the injured party in the same position it would have been in if the contract had been fully performed. Eastlake Constr. Co. v. Hess, 102 Wn.2d 30, 39 686 P.2d 465 (1984) (citing Diedrick v. School Dist. 81, 87 Wn.2d 598, 610, 555 P.2d 825 (1976)). Despite this overriding goal, all contract damages traditionally are limited by three core components: (1) foreseeability, (2) reasonable certainty, and (3) the duty to mitigate. Construction law generally adheres to these basic contract law principles.

Under traditional common-law principles, damages are limited to those that are foreseeable to the parties at the time of the contract. When two parties have made a contract, which one of them has broken, our courts have explained that the damages recoverable for breach of contract are those that

may fairly...