XII.11. 4. What Are Nominal Damages?

• Jurisdiction: New York

4. What Are Nominal Damages?

The law assumes that whenever there is breach of a contractual right, there is some resulting damage. Sometimes, however, the non-breaching party fails to prove its damages. Nonetheless, it might still be able to recover nominal damages. Nominal damages are awarded as a formal vindication of the non-breaching party’s legal right to compensation for breach of contract where that party has not presented a sufficiently certain monetary valuation of the damages it suffered.⁶⁷⁰ Nominal damages are always available in a breach of contract action. ⁶⁷¹

Nominal damages are damages in name only and not at all compensatory. An award of nominal damages is appropriate where the non-breaching party cannot establish the amount of damages caused by the breach of contract. Where the evidence shows the contract has been breached, but the amount of the loss caused by the breach cannot be proved, the injured party may still recover nominal...