Breach of Contract

Employment Law Attorneys in California

A contract is a legal agreement between two parties that establishes obligations for both parties. Each person or company who enters into a contract has both the duty to fulfill contract requirements and a right to expect that the other party will live up to his end of the bargain. In California, a breach of contract occurs when:

• A contract exists;
• Performance or excuse of performance by the Plaintiff​;
• Defendant's breach of duties to perform; and
• Damages to Plaintiff

Common damages include:

• Expectation damages
  • the dollar amount the employee would have received had the contract been performed minus the employee’s reasonable efforts to mitigate damages
• Liquidated damages
  • these are usually rare; however, it is specific dollar amount that one party must pay the other for losses that are difficult to determine.
• Compensatory ​and punitive damages
  • these damages are awarded for emotional distress and are usually limited to discrimination and/or harassment cases
• Attorney’s fees ​
  • these may be awarded if the contract states the employer must pay these fees if a breach of contract occurs otherwise you must pay your own attorneys fees.