What are the common types of remedies available?
In Tennessee, contract law provides a wide variety of remedies for breaches of contract. Generally speaking, these remedies may come in the form of damages, specific performance, reformation, and/or rescission. Damages are the most common remedy available. Damages are payment to the breach victim from the breaching party in order to make them “whole.” This means that the non-breaching party should be put into a position they would have been in if the contract had been performed. The courts can award compensatory damages, which are based on actual losses, and/or punitive damages, which are determined by the court and are intended to punish the breaching party. Specific performance is an equitable remedy, which means it is granted at the discretion of the court. It requires the breaching party to perform the terms of the contract, even if they do not want to, as if they had not breached. Reformation is another equitable remedy. It requires a court to rewrite a contract, to make it as originally agreed upon by the parties, when the contract does not accurately reflect the terms as originally discussed. Lastly, rescission is another remedy available. It requires the court to annul the contract, making it as though it never existed in the first place. This remedy is generally sought if one party was misled or taken advantage of. All of these remedies are available in Tennessee for contract law. Depending on the circumstances of the breach, the non-breaching party may be entitled to one or more of these remedies.
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