Are direct damages the same as compensatory damages?

Asked by: Ulises Wuckert III  |  Last update: February 19, 2022
Score: 4.4/5 (53 votes)

General damages are a direct result of the defendant's wrongful conduct, and special damages are unique to the party affected by the defendant's breach of contract. ... Compensatory damages are not designed to punish a breaching party; rather, their purpose is to make the non-breaching party whole again.

Are compensatory damages direct or indirect?

When a contract is breached, the recognized remedy for an owner is recovery of damages that result directly from the breach (also known as "compensatory damages"). Damages may include the cost to repair or complete the work in accordance with the contract documents, or the value of lost or damaged work.

What are the 3 types of compensatory damages?

The three types of damages are economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages.

What are considered direct damages?

Direct damages are “the necessary and usual result of the defendant's wrongful act; they flow naturally and necessarily from the wrong.”[1] Direct damages are intended to compensate the plaintiff for the loss incurred that was foreseeable by the defendant from his wrongful act.

Are direct damages the same as actual damages?

Direct Damages means actual, direct damages incurred by the claiming party which include, by way of example but without limitation, the costs to correct any deficiencies in the Data rendered by Provider and similar damages, but "Direct Damages" shall not include (A) loss of interest, profit or revenue of the claiming ...

Direct v Consequential Damages

18 related questions found

Are compensatory damages consequential damages?

Compensatory damages, as the name implies, are intended to compensate a claimant for the actual loss, injury, or harm sustained. ... The term “consequential damages” is meant to indicate that the damages sought are merely an indirect “consequence” of the defendant's conduct.

Do Compensatory damages include consequential damages?

Consequential damages (also known as special damages) are another form of compensatory damages. Special damages do not flow directly and immediately from the defendant's act, but from some of the consequences of the act.

What are direct vs indirect damages?

When lawyers talk about “direct damages” caused by a breach of contract, they specifically mean those damages directly and immediately resulting from one side's violations of the contract. ... Indirect damages have all sorts of labels: consequential, incidental, indirect, exemplary, special, enhanced, punitive, etc.

What is the difference between direct and indirect damages?

Direct damages are those that accident victims incur immediately as the result of the collision. ... Indirect damages are those that do not occur as the direct result of the accident but, rather, because of other damages that the victim incurred.

What are direct damages vs indirect damages?

Direct damages for a vendor include lost profits. Vendor lost profits as a direct result of the breach. For the buyer, lost profits are an indirect damage. Buyer lost profits as an indirect consequence of Vendor, for example, not supplying goods, which is the direct damage.

What are compensatory damages also known as?

Also known as actual damages. The amount of money awarded to a party in a civil action to compensate for an injury or loss caused by another party's unlawful conduct. The purpose of compensatory damages is to make the claimant "whole," not to punish the wrongdoer.

What are the different type of damages?

What are the different types of damages?
  • General and Special Damages.
  • Substantial Damages.
  • Aggravated and Exemplary Damages.
  • Liquidated and Unliquidated Damages.
  • Consequential Damage and Incidental Loss.

What is the difference between punitive and compensatory damages?

Compensatory damages are given to the injured victim to help pay for medical expenses and other damages created, while punitive damages are meant to penalize the at-fault party.

What is the difference between indirect and consequential loss?

In assessing damages for breach of contract: Consequential loss (also known as indirect loss) arises from a special circumstance of the case, not in the usual course of things. ... Direct loss is the natural result of the breach in the usual course of things.

Are reliance damages direct damages?

Direct damages are the direct costs incurred due to the breach of contract. In addition to direct damages, a plaintiff may seek consequential or “special” damages. ... Reliance interest is designed to put the plaintiff in the position he or she would have been in if the contract had never been made.

What are examples of indirect damages?

Indirect Damages means loss of production, loss of profit, loss of use, loss of contracts or any other indirect loss.

Which loss is an example of a direct loss?

Direct Loss Example

If a tornado strikes a town and takes the roof off the building, a direct loss would include damage to the structure, as well as to equipment, furniture, inventory or other items inside. Fire and smoke damage would count as a direct loss. So would theft, or a car crashing through the front window.

What's the difference between personal or direct and indirect liability?

Any person who personally causes harm or injury to a person or property has direct liability and must therefore pay for the damage done. ... A direct liability is the opposite of an indirect liability whereby a person or company becomes liable on the basis of the act or omission of another person or company.

Are lost wages compensatory damages?

California law allows for plaintiffs to recover lost wages in personal injury cases. ... Both lost wages and lost earning capacity are part of the compensatory damages a plaintiff can recover for a defendant's negligence, gross negligence, recklessness, intentional wrongful acts or strict liability.

What is the purpose of compensatory damages?

Compensatory damages, like the name suggests, are intended to compensate the injured party for loss or injury. Punitive damages are awarded to punish a wrongdoer.

Are lost profits compensatory damages?

In California, lost profits may be considered direct damages when the profits are “part and parcel of the contract itself.” Lewis Jorge, 34 Cal. 4th at 971. ... More commonly, though, lost profits are considered to be consequential rather than direct damages.

What is the difference between compensatory damages and consequential damages What are nominal damages and when do courts award nominal damages?

Compensatory damages compensate an injured party for injuries or damages. ... Consequential damages differ from compensatory damages in that they are caused by special circumstances beyond the contract. Nominal damages are awarded to an innocent party when no actual damage has been suffered.

What is the difference between incidental and consequential damages?

The difference between incidental and consequential damages is the cause of the expense or loss. Incidental damages are the direct result of one party's breach of contract. Consequential damages are more indirect, being incurred not as a result of the breach itself, but due to the end result of the breach.

What is the difference between special damages and consequential damages?

The distinction between general [or direct] and special [or consequential] damages is not that one is and the other is not the direct and proximate consequence of the breach complained of, but that general [or direct] damages are such as naturally and ordinarily follow the breach, whereas special [or consequential] ...

What are examples of consequential damages?

Examples of Consequential Damages.
  • Loss of anticipated profits;
  • Loss of business;
  • Cost of unsuccessful attempts to repair defective goods;
  • Loss of goodwill;
  • Losses resulting from interruption of buyer's production process;
  • Loss of reputation; and.
  • Loss of sales contracts because of delayed products.