In a breach of contract action, can a defendant be held liable for avoidable losses?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Schluessel et al v. Maier et al, 2001 BCSC 60 (CanLII):
In Red Deer College v. Michaels, 1975 CanLII 15 (SCC), [1976] 2 S.C.R. 324, Laskin C.J.C. describes the interrelationship between compensation for damages caused by breach of contract and avoidable losses (at p. 330): The primary rule in breach of contract cases, that a wronged plaintiff is entitled to be put in as good a position as he would have been in if there had been proper performance by the defendant, is subject to the qualification that the defendant cannot be called upon to pay for avoidable losses which would result in an increase in the quantum of damages payable to the plaintiff. The reference in the case law to a “duty” to mitigate should be understood in this sense.
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