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CAN
THEY DO THAT ?
GETTING
EVEN
WRIGHT
& MILLS, P.A..
I BOUGHT A HOUSE
BUT THE PEOPLE WHO SOLD IT TOLD ME I COULD
MOVE IN THIS MONTH AND THEY'RE NOT OUT
YET. I CAN SUE THEM AND GET PUNITIVE
DAMAGES, CAN'T I?
No,
you can't!
If
you are successful suing someone for a
breach of contract, such as a contract for
the sale of a house, you may obtain the
"benefit of the bargain" and your
"consequential damages." Consequential
damages are basically out of pocket
expenses, or whatever money you lost
because of the other party's failure to
live up to their end of the
bargain.
For
example, if you had to rent another place
or pay extra for moving expenses, those
costs could be awarded to you as
consequential damages. Under Maine law
those are the only kinds of damages you
can recover for a breach of
contract.
You
could also sue to have the contract
enforced, and this is called "specific
performance."
"Punitive
damages" are a penalty for very bad
behavior and are allowed in tort cases,
such as drunk driving accidents where
someone is injured. For the jury to
consider punitive damages, however, the
judge has to determine first that the
person's conduct was malicious or so awful
as to "impute malice." These damages are
not permitted in a contract case, no
matter how annoying the other person's
behavior is.
In
some contracts the parties agree to
"liquidated damages," or a specific amount
of money that may be awarded to you if the
other person breaks the contract. These
damages can be awarded even if they are
more than what you actually lost as a
result of the broken
contract.
But
remember, if you sue for breach of
contract, generally you are entitled to
recoup what you lost on account of the
contract being broken, nothing
more.
It's
the law!
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