Are you the victim of a breach of contract?  Did you know that you have a responsibility to mitigate your losses in a breach of contract.  You must take immediate steps to reduce associated damages and protect your rights of recovery in any breach of contract dispute.  The party who has not caused the breach is required under California law to take “prompt, reasonable and prudent action” to reduce the impact of the breach of contract on their business and to minimize as much as possible the losses or damages that result from the breach.

Mitigating your losses in a breach of contract preserves all of your rights as you pursue resolution of the challenges at hand.  It also allows you to recover the maximum amount of damages from the breaching party if the situation fails to resolve.

Damages are simply the documentable financial losses that you or your company have incurred as a result of the breach of contract.  Many experienced business professionals are not aware that they are required by law to take action to reduce the financial impact of the breach.  The responsibility to mitigate your losses in a breach of contract is often the last thing on the mind of a business owner who has been disappointed by a contract partner.  However, this important step is the key to ensuring the maximum recovery in any breach of contract mediation, arbitration or business litigation.

Pro-Tip: “The responsibility to mitigate the damages in a breach of contract is a legal obligation under California law. A lot of people get hurt or damaged by someone who breaches a contract. And then they go with this attitude that, well, since they breached, (the other party) owes and they don’t try to mitigate their damages. I mean, doing the types of prudent things that would make them not suffer as much from the breach of contract or other types of causes of action.

And what happens in the law is a judge or a jury will hear what you did and you’ll think you’re gonna get $300,000 in trial, but they’ll decide that you failed to perform your obligation, to do everything you could to lessen the amount of damages you suffered.  And you’ll receive only a small portion of that, or in some cases, nothing at all.” – Dan Watkins, Founding Partner

The proven contract dispute resolution attorneys at the Watkins Firm have more than four decades of experience in these disputes and provide timely guidance to our clients to help them to protect their position, while ensuring that they have taken documented actions and steps to reduce associated damages.

If you are the victim of a breach of contract in San Diego and are concerned about the situation and the steps you should take 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.