The Law of Contract Damages

What is The Law of Contract Damages?

The Law of Contract Damages (4th Edition) is a specialist UK practitioner text on damages for breach of contract, used widely in commercial disputes. It sets out the principles and then applies them in a highly practical way across different types of contractual "complaints" and loss scenarios.

Who is The Law of Contract Damages for?

It's written for those who need to advise on (or litigate) contractual loss — especially commercial litigators, barristers, in-house disputes teams, and contract specialists dealing with valuation, causation, remoteness, mitigation and proof of loss.

How is the book structured?

The 4th edition starts with an introduction to the contract damages award, then is largely organised by type of complaint (e.g., non/defective/delayed provision of services; misadvice; non-payment of money or the temporary loss of use of property money etc.). This makes it easier to "read across" from authorities outside your immediate practice area when building an argument or advising quickly.

What practical damages issues does The Law of Contract Damages cover beyond the basics?

It includes detailed treatment of issues that often matter in real cases but can be overlooked, such as damages for lost management time, whether hedging costs are recoverable, and how to prove lost profits in a defensible way.

What's new in the 4th edition?

The 4th edition takes account of important case law developments such as URS Corporation Ltd v BDW Trading Ltd (UKSC, 2025), on mitigation, intervening acts and legal causation), Sharp Corp Ltd v Viterra BV (UKSC, 2024), on mitigation and the sale of goods market measure) and Rhine Shipping DMCC v Vitol SA (CA, 2024), on hedging costs.

In addition, the author has made significant and substantive changes discussing and clarifying a number of developing areas of the law and provided structural changes to the text for ease of navigation.