Argument on Behalf of the Appellant - Case Study Example

No one can tell how far the test can be pushed and the exact meaning of ‘exceptional’.

Hastings should not be awarded damage of £1000 as damages but remedied the value of the wood to be used in the house. This case is quite different from the case of Ruxley Electronics and Construction Ltd v Forsyth [1995] in which the House of Appeal upheld the initial ruling of issuing damages for inconvenience and loss of amenity and not awarding the cost of rebuilding the pool. Sunburst deliberately breached the agreed full specification to make an extra profit by selling the plaintiff’s wood to a different client.

The case is exceptional and normal remedy is inadequate in compensating the breach of contract and thus an order on the defendant to account for all profits. Sunburst had harmed the plaintiff by leading to the loss of amenities and making a profit of 6000. The sale of the mahogany to a different client in the pursuit of greater profits was a breach of the contract. The court should ensure that the defendant does not benefit from the breach of contract by disgorging the profits to the plaintiff. The remedy of 1000 is not enough as a remedy to the plaintiff as they will suffer the loss of amenities and the value of their preferred type of mahogany.

The case should ignore the general rule of duty to mitigate the loss which applies to the claim of damages as in the case of White & Carter (Councils) Ltd v McGregor [1961]. Hasting should not be obliged to accept the breach of contract and should be compensated in full the value of the initial mahogany to be used £30000 or get a replacement of the mahogany used as opposed to the £1000  Sunburst harmed the plaintiff by leading to the loss of amenity and making a profit of 6000. The sale of the mahogany to a different client in the pursuit of greater profits was a breach of the contract. The court should ensure that the defendant does not benefit from the breach of contract by disgorging the profits to the plaintiff. Read More