Section 7.25 Damages

• Library: Contracts 2016 Supp

B. (§7.25) Damages

Generally, a party is entitled to monetary damages if the other contracting party has breached the contract. Cf. Weiss v. Leaon, 225 S.W.2d 127, 130 (Mo. 1949). It should be noted that the definition of breach of contract mandates that the breach actually cause damage, but courts have held that nominal damages are available if the other elements of a breach-of-contract claim are established (in essence, supplying “damages” when a breach is otherwise proven). Shirley’s Realty, Inc. v. Hunt, 160 S.W.3d 804, 808 (Mo. App. W.D. 2005).

The amount of damages for breach of contract is the sum that places, as far as possible, the claimant in the same position as the claimant would have been if the contract had been performed. Dunning v. Alfred H. Mayer Co.,483 S.W.2d 423, 427 (Mo. App. E.D. 1972). The claimant is entitled to the value of the contract, the value of the promised performance, or the value of the benefit contracted for. Id. The plaintiff is entitled to the “benefit of the bargain” by being placed in the same position as if the contract had been performed. Turner v. Shalberg, 70 S.W.3d 653, 658 (Mo. App. S.D. 2002).

Several issues frequently arise when the court determines the extent of damages. One recurring issue is whether lost profits are compensable. Lost profits are generally recoverable when:

the breach naturally and proximately caused the loss;

the profits were in the contemplation of the parties at the time of the contracting;

the lost profits can be...