Specific Performance
| Author | Jeffrey Lehman, Shirelle Phelps |
Page 268
An extraordinary equitable remedy that compels a party to execute a contract according to the precise terms agreed upon or to execute it substantially so that, under the circumstances, justice will be done between the parties.
Specific performance grants the plaintiff what he actually bargained for in the contract rather than damages (pecuniary compensation for loss or injury incurred through the unlawful conduct of another) for not receiving it; thus specific performance is an equitable rather than legal remedy. By compelling the parties to perform exactly what they had agreed to perform, more complete and perfect justice is achieved than by awarding damages for a breach of contract.
Specific performance can be granted only by a court in the exercise of its EQUITY powers, subsequent to a determination of whether a valid contract that can be enforced exists and an evaluation of the relief sought. As a general rule, specific performance is applied in breach of contract actions where monetary damages are inadequate, primarily where the contract involves land or a unique chattel (PERSONAL PROPERTY). Damages for the breach of a contract for the sale of ordinary personal property are, in most cases, readily ascertainable and recoverable so that specific performance will not be granted.
An important advantage to this remedy is that, since it is an order of an equity court, it is supported by the enforcement power of that court. If the defendant refuses to obey that order, she can be cited for criminal CONTEMPT and even imprisoned. The defendant can also be cited for civil contempt for continuing to refuse to obey the order and can be incarcerated until she agrees to obey it. In such a situation, it is said that "she has the keys to freedom in her pocket," which signifies that the defendant can release herself by complying with the court order. These enforcement powers are one of the principal reasons why plaintiffs seek specific performance of contracts.
Specific performance is ordered only on equitable grounds in view of all the conditions surrounding the particular case. The determining factor is whether, in equity and good conscience, the court should specifically enforce the contract because the legal remedy of monetary damages would inadequately compensate the plaintiff for the loss.
The remedy of specific performance presupposes the existence of a valid contract between the parties to the controversy. The terms of the contract must be definite and certain. This is significant because equity cannot be expected to enforce either an invalid contract or one that is so vague in its terms that equity cannot determine exactly what it must order each party to perform. It would be unjust for a court to compel the performance of a contract according to ambiguous terms interpreted by the court, since the court might erroneously order what the parties never intended or contemplated.
A plaintiff seeking specific performance of a contract must have contracted in GOOD FAITH. If the plaintiff has acted fraudulently or has taken unfair advantage of superior bargaining power in drafting extremely harsh contract terms with respect to the defendant, the plaintiff has thereby contravened the doctrine of clean hands. Under that doctrine, the court will deny relief to a party...
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