I’m literally a higher education law student and no matter how many times it’s explained to me I DO NOT GET IT 😂
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You want to go on vacation to a tropical island. I am a hotel owner on the island. We make a contract that you will pay me $1000 for a week’s stay in my hotel. You buy an expensive airplane ticket, take time off from work, and fly to the island. When you arrive, I say “Sorry, the hotel is full. I cannot give you a room. You don’t need to pay me the $1000.”
You have two reasonable responses to the breach of contract. (1) “Okay, then find me a room at another hotel, and if it costs more than $1000, you have to pay the difference. Give me exactly what I ***expected*** to get: a week’s stay for no more than $1000.” (2) “Okay, I’m going to fly back home, and you’re going to pay for my airplane ticket and my lost wages that were wasted because I ***relied*** on your promise being truthful.”
Expectation damages restore the victim to where they would reasonably be if the contract had been honored. Reliance damages restore the victim to where they would reasonably be if they hadn’t formed the contract at all. You generally would not be able to get both at the same time from a successful lawsuit.
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