What are the available remedies for breach of contract in San Diego and across the State of California? How can the Watkins Firm help you to resolve the dispute quickly and cost effectively?
There are Many Available Remedies for Breach of Contract in San Diego and Across the State of California:
- What happens when there is a breach of contract? What are the options when a contractual partner fails to deliver the benefit of the bargain in California? There several remedies available under California law.
- Monetary remedies include financial damages, equivalent to the actual losses experienced by the victim of the breach of contract due to the failure of the other party or parties to live up to their commitment(s). A liquidated damages clause would specify a specific amount of compensation for the breach within the contract itself.
- Rescission and specific performance are two other specific types of remedies. Rescission essentially cancels the contract itself, restoring the parties to the point they were prior to entering the contract. Specific performance is when the Court has the authority to compel one party to uphold the promises they made within the contract. This is common in real estate disputes, as well as those involving a rare and valuable item.
The Best Defense Against a Breach of Contract is a Well Crafted Contract
Well constructed contracts are fully enforceable here in San Diego and throughout the State of California. We have a proprietary library of proven, tested contracts that are updated to reflect changes in federal, state, and local laws and ordinances. Starting with a proven contract helps to reduce the likelihood of a breach down the road. What happens when one party fails to fulfill their obligation under a contract? The Watkins Firm takes a unique approach to resolving breach of contract disputes that is designed to allow each party to achieve the “benefit of the bargain” while providing adequate compensation (when appropriate) for any damages which might arise from the breach.
Remedies for Breach of Contract Under California Law
What are the remedies for breach of contract in San Diego and what is the best option based upon both legal and business issues? California law provides several different types of remedies for a breach of contract including:
Monetary Damages – “Damages” are simply the financial equivalent of the general and consequential losses which occurred as a result of the breach of contract. The Watkins firm works to quickly and accurate assess both the general damages as well as losses which occurred as a consequence of the contract breach.
Rescission – Rescission allows the party who did not breach the agreement to be released from any performance obligations or duties established by the original agreement.
Specific Performance – in some cases the court may enforce the specific provisions of the agreement. For example, one party may have anticipated the purchase of a unique asset (such as a logo, trademark, or rare and valuable item) which cannot simply be purchased elsewhere. In these cases the Court may require the breaching party to perform on the agreement to ensure transaction is completed.
Liquidated Damages – Many contracts contain “liquidated damages” clauses which award a specific amount of compensation in the event of a breach of contract. These provisions are usually added in situations where determining actual losses created by a breach of contract are extremely difficult or impossible to calculate.
Resolving a Breach of Contract Dispute
The Watkins Firm has 40+ years of experience resolving breach of contract cases and all other forms of business disputes. We work to quickly and efficiently develop a thorough, well-documented chronology of events and a mastery of available damages and remedies. This provides the leverage to draw other parties into effective negotiations to resolve the matter at hand. The Watkins Firm is able to resolve the majority of our breach of contract cases through effective, leveraged negotiation. Once a lawsuit is filed, we continue to protect our clients interests while seeking a positive resolution through the Settlement Conference, business mediation, or arbitration.
Pro-Tip: “How do you define the benefit of the bargain? The benefit of the bargain is required for a contract because a contract without any exchange or any value is not a contract. So to have a contract, you have to have an offer, an acceptance and something of value. So that’s what the benefit of the bargain is. That’s what makes it a contract.
A breach of a contract is when someone breaches a material term of the agreement or an immaterial term of the agreement. And you have different remedies for either. Failure to perform most of or part of the contract or an important part of a contract, anything that would render the benefit of the bargain not received.
What’s the difference. and what’s the remedy if someone commits a minor breach contract versus a material breach? A minor breach means that you still have a contract. You still have an agreement and you can demand performance, or you can demand that you have to give less performance on the other side, but yet the contract isn’t completely breached and it’s not over. A material breach gives you more remedies, remedies that are important and may sound minor today. But there’s been many a situation where having a material breach gives the party who was breached or damaged the right to rescind the contract or the right to specific performance, and forced the performance of the contract. All of these things have amazing consequences, if you look at factual situations in breach of contract law.
So in a material breach, one available choice is that the non-breaching party no longer has to obey the terms of the contract? The person who’s been damaged by the breaching party has all kinds of choices they can make. And depending on the kind of contract, the subject matter of contract, whether it’s a real estate contract or a commercial contract, they have the right to choose through a whole list of remedies, including provisional remedies and the list goes on and on. This is as opposed to a minor breach. Whereas your remedies are, are much less.
The primary remedy for a breach of contract is damages. We are often asked: ‘What are damages?’
It’s a great question, and it’s the right question. Great question! When I advise my clients, I tell them the most important item in litigation is not whether you are liable or they’re liable, or somebody breached. I say the three most important things in a lawsuit are: damages damages damages. And I say, it just like, you know, location, location, location, because it’s that important in the type of damages you can obtain are so varied that if you focus on whether you’ve been damaged under the law, there will be a statute or a case that says you are entitled to those damages. So if you track it backwards from I lost a hundred thousand dollars in this deal and how you lost it on those facts and what you did lose, you’ll probably find 99% of the time, a statute or a law or a case or something that gives you a remedy, a right to those damages and how you can collect.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner
Learn More About Your Available Options in a San Diego Breach of Contract Case
There are many available remedies in a breach of contract case in San Diego, or anywhere in the State of California. What is the appropriate or best available remedy in your case? What actions must you take under California law to protect your rights and the ability to recover your losses? We invite you to review our podcast Episode 5 – Breach of Contract as well as the strong recommendations of our clients and contact the Watkins Firm or call 858-535-1511 for a complimentary consultation today.
Learn more about your rights and the remedies for breach of contract in San Diego which might be available to you under California law.
Meet Dan Watkins:
Daniel W. Watkins is a true people person who sincerely listens. He cares about things that occur in other people’s lives. Dan enjoys digging into the facts and finding creative solutions to problems. He is not shy about giving his opinion either.
Dan’s interest in people make him deeply invested in every relationship and his exuberant personality makes him a true litigator. Dan fights for his clients with a fierce and calculated commitment.
Dan has practiced in the areas of business, medical practices and healthcare business, high tech/science, real estate and employment defense law since 1987. He is a seasoned litigator and true trial attorney with over 50 jury and bench trials to his credit. Dan has successfully represented both large companies and individuals and achieved substantial victories in well-publicized trials throughout California and the U.S.
He is experienced in business and corporate formation and administration, as well as all forms of alternative dispute resolution, including binding arbitration and mediation.
THE ROAD TO BECOMING A BUSINESS LAWYER AND LITIGATOR
Dan has almost 40 years of experience working with, for and against some of the largest insurance companies in the country. He has successfully tried and litigated cases in the areas of Healthcare Compliance, Commercial Litigation, Unfair Business Practices, Fraud, Breach of Contract, Battery, Premises Liability, Product Defect, Medical Malpractice, Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, Construction Defect, as well as Unfair Competition, Defamation, and Trade Secrets.
In December 2003, Dan commenced litigation against Health South Surgery Centers-West, Inc and its’ subsidiaries, exposing the company’s extensive mismanagement and misconduct of its’ surgery centers. Dan has also been asked by some of California’s largest municipalities and corporations to conduct legally required investigations into matters involving alleged employment discrimination and harassment.
