The Rights of the Injured Party in Case of Breach of Contract - Essay Example

? People enter into many contracts throughout a lifetime. When someone enters into a contract it is for a number of reasons. Usually when someone enters into a contract the contract is between they who are promised something, and someone else who is promising them something. A contract does not become binding until it is agreed upon by both parties (Bennet, N. D.). The contract may be terminated but only under certain circumstances. If the contract is not fulfilled by either party then the contract has become breached (N. A., N. D.). There may be money damages someone can collect when a contract is breached; however, there are limitations to how much damages may be collect due to a breach of a contract. When a teacher is employed by a school district the teacher is under a contract. The contract states that the teacher will remain on staff throughout the duration of the school year, and the school district promises that the teacher will have a job for the duration of the school year(N. A., N. D.). Sometimes the contract between a teacher and a school district is breached. Under certain circumstances the school board may terminate the teachers contract during the school year. When the school board terminates the contract during the school year the teacher is left without a steady paycheck. When someone is fired the person does not normally receive a severance pay. The teacher may be entitled to severance pay in the amount the teacher would have received in wages for duration of the school year. The teacher is limited to only this amount of damages. If a teacher terminates a contract and leaves during the school year, the school district will need to find a replacement to teach the students. The school board may then be entitled to compensation because the teacher terminated the contract. The school board would again be limited to the amount of damages specified in the contract (N. A., N. D.). If someone hires a construction company and the construction company does not complete the job on time, or the construction company creates a faulty structure then the person who employed the construction company would be entitled to damages caused by the construction company breaching the contract made between the person, and the construction company (N. A., N. D.). The person is only permitted to collect damages in the amount of how much damage was caused by the construction company when the construction company did not complete the job on time. The person may have planned to rent the structure, and lost rental fees because the person was unable to rent the structure. The person would be entitled to the amount of fees lost because the person was unable to rent the structure when the company did not complete the structure on time. If a construction company does not complete a project within the time specified in the contract the person who employed the construction company is legally permitted to terminate the contract without any legal ramifications. The person who enters into a lease with an apartment complex is entitled to stay in the apartment community until the end of the lease (N. A., N. D.). The person signed a lease, and agreed to pay the apartment community the amount specified in the lease every month until the end of the lease. If for some reason the tenant is not able to pay the specified amount of monthly rent, and defaults on the rent, the apartment community may be entitled to damages caused by the tenant not paying the rent. The apartment community is entitled to collect the amount of money owed. If the tenant breaches the contract by nonpayment in the tenth month of residency the apartment community is limited to collect the fees owed for three months of rent, and attorney costs. A breach of a contract case is usually heard before a judge. A person in a breach of a contract case is entitled to receive a trial by a jury, but not always. The Constitution does not specify for a jury trial at all trials. In a breach of a contract case the judge, and possibly jury will hear all of the credible evidence for, and against the case. A judge will only accept credible evidence in a trial. If a person has hearsay evidence this is not permitted in a trial. The judge will decide the case. When the judge decides the case the judge decides whether, or not there was a breach of a contract. A judge will also decide what the damage was caused by the breach of a contract, and how much in damages the plaintiff is entitled to. Sometimes, a plaintiff will not want to have a trial with a judge. When a plaintiff does not want to have a trial with a judge the plaintiff will ask the attorney for a trial with an arbitrator. The arbitrator is something like a judge, but and arbitrator does not have to have a law degree to practice arbitration. A person who practices arbitration is specially trained by the American Arbitration Association. Sometimes it is specified in the contract the in the event there is a breach of the case both parties agree to have the case heard by an arbitrator. An arbitrator is different than a judge an arbitrator will hear hearsay evidence, and other insufficient evidence not allowed by a judge in a court trial. The decision the arbitrator makes is binding and cannot be overturned. When an arbitrator hears a case the arbitrator will generally have a decision within three months. When a case is heard in court by a judge the case can take several years. There is a difference between the words damage, and damages. Damages is not a plural form of damage (N. D.). Damage means that there was harm caused by the breach of a contract, such as emotional stress, or the loss of money. Damages mean money. When someone is entitled to damages the person is entitled to money to compensate for the damage caused by the breach of contract. The amount of money a person is entitled to in the event of a breach of a contract depends on what type of damage was caused to the person because of the breach of the contract. Many times the amount of damages a person can collect when a contract is breached is specified in the fine print of the contract (N. D.). So, a person is entitled to money damages in the event of a breach of contract. How much money a person is entitled is limited to how much damage was caused by the breach of the contract. Every state, and the federal government has a different limit on how much damages a person is entitled to should there be a breach of a contract. These limits are set in the event there is damage to someone’s property, or the person trying to claim damages has suffered psychological, or emotional damage because there was a breach of a contract. Yes, a person is entitled to damages in the event of a breach of a contract, but how much depends on how much damage was caused when the contract was breached (N. A., N. D.). References Bennet, S., (N. D.), Breach of contract, http://contracts.lawyers.com/breach-of-contract/, May 10, 2011 Breach of contract legal definition, (N. D.), http://public.findlaw.com/abaflg/flg-9-4b-3.html, May 10, 2011 Construction defect litigation, (N. D.), http://realestate.findlaw.com/construction-defects/home-construction-defect-litigation(1).html, May 10, 2011 Contracts and consumer law, (N. D.), http://public.findlaw.com/abaflg/flg-9-4a.html, May 10, 2011 How to resign properly, (N. D.), http://public.findlaw.com/bookshelf-don’t-get-taken/dgtchp1_c4.html, May 10, 2011 More information on civil statute of limitations, (N. D.), http://law.findlaw.com/state-laws/civil-statute-of-limitations/intro-civil-statute-of-limitations/, May 10, 2011 Should I keep a record of the contract, (N. D.), http://public.findlaw.com/abaflg/flg-9-4b-3.html, May 10, 2011 Teachers rights, contracts, (N. D.), http://public.findlaw.com/education/teacher_contracts.html, May 10, 2011 Your rights as a tenant, (N. D.), http://realestate.findlaw.com/tenant/tenant-overview/tenant-overview-rights(1).html, May 10, 2011 What kinds of damages are there?, (N. D.), http://public.findlaw.com/abaflg/flg-9-4e-3.html, May 10, 2011 Read More