It can be argued that contracts would have no value if there were no consequences for violating (breaching) them. In the law, these consequences are typically known as “remedies.” That’s because they’re intended to make the other parties to the contract whole.
Often, this involves the party who breached the contract compensating the other one. This usually involves compensatory damages. That’s the amount of money the other party will need to pay to get what the breaching party was supposed to provide. Compensatory damages are often used when someone failed to provide a contracted service or maybe caused damage and didn’t fix it.
There are other forms of monetary damages, such as restitution, which only involves refunding the amount paid. Punitive damages are less common. They are typically awarded only if the breaching party intentionally did something to harm the other (or someone else).
What is “injunctive relief?”
This typically involves an order by a court for the breaching party either to do something (mandatory injunction) or stop doing something (prohibitory injunction). This may be ordered in addition to monetary damages or alone. For example, if someone has been using your intellectual property, you want them to stop doing it as the rest of the case plays out and it’s determined whether they pay damages.
An example of a mandatory injunction would be something called “specific performance.” That’s ordered when a product or service is so unique that the breaching party needs to provide it because it can’t be provided by someone else. If you hired someone with a unique skill or talent, for example, and they failed to provide the service they promised, this might call for a specific performance order.
This is just a brief overview of some of the remedies that are possible if you bring a breach of contract action. Every situation is unique, so having sound legal guidance is crucial to getting the outcome you’re seeking.