What damages can you seek for a breach of contract?

Contracts keep the business world together. They ensure that each party holds up its end of the bargain and that transactions go smoothly. But what happens when a party on one side of the agreement decides to not to live up to the guidelines set forth in the contract? In legal terms, that’s what’s called a breach of contract. When that occurs, there are several ways in which the injured party can be made whole again.

Here are some of the most common:

• Restitution. This is when the party who breached the contract is ordered to pay the injured party back. Say you paid an electrician $200 to fix some wiring in your store and he never did the job. Restitution would mean the electrician would return the $200.
• Compensatory. Let’s imagine your electrician never did the job and you were forced to hire another electrician at the higher rate of $300. Compensatory damages would require the electrician to pay you the $300 you spent.
• Quantum Meruit. Now imagine the electrician in our example finished half the job. In a quantum meruit (in Latin: as much as he deserves) case, you could demand half of your fee back.

These are just a few of the ways you can be compensated in a breach of contract case. If you feel you’ve suffered damages because of a breach of contract you may want to speak with an attorney. A Florida attorney will be able to inspect the contract and might be able to help you receive compensation.