Section 36 Damages in Addition to or in Lieu of Specific Performance

• Library: Damages 2012

Frequently, a plaintiff who seeks specific performance of a contract will have been injured because of the defendant’s delay in performance or other type of breach. Because, under these circumstances, specific performance alone will not make the plaintiff whole, courts of equity have traditionally granted damages in addition to the equitable relief. Metro. St. Louis Sewer Dist. v. Zykan, 495 S.W.2d 643 (Mo. 1973); Cal‑Val Constr. Co. v. Mazur, 636 S.W.2d 391 (Mo. App. E.D. 1982).

The more difficult problem arises when the court denies specific performance, and the question then becomes whether the court should retain the case to grant purely legal relief. If specific performance is originally possible but the seller makes it impractical for specific performance to be granted, and if the buyer brings suit for specific performance in good faith but the court cannot grant it, the court may retain the case and award damages. Dunning v. Alfred H....