Danages and their calculability Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Danages and their calculability - Research Paper Example Damages, generally, vary largely depending on the type of loss or injury sustained, the claim presented and the jurisdiction in which the claim is brought. Though the general concept of damages is well rooted in common law not all damages are, especially when considering those recoverable in securities law (Hames 101). Nevertheless damage awards are often at the center of controversy given their monetary nature and their debilitating effect. In response, congress has attempted to address these concerns by enacting several statutes limiting the monetary awards damages can afford. Nonetheless, damages play an integral part of every legal system, providing teeth to every bite civil law imposes. This paper seeks to discuss and examine the different types of fraud damages available in breach of contract, tort, and under Rule 10b-5 and how those damages are calculated. Because the rules governing damage awards very greatly on the jurisdiction they are pursued in, the aim of this paper is t o provide a general understanding of the customary rules governing common damage types. The discussion is divided in three parts. Part one will briefly discuss the nature of damages. Part two will discuss fraud damage types and calculability in three sections: compensatory damages and restitution, mitigation of damages and punitive damages. Part three will examine and analyze the damages for fraud, and their related drawbacks under tort, contract breach, and 10b-5. In the legal system, civil law has its core principles in a system that serves in the perspective of a primary source in law. Based on the Roman law’s framework, civil law was developed from Western Europe origins. The same can be contrasted with common law, which basis intellectual dependency on judge made decisional laws, that accord precedential authority to any prior court decisions. The latter is on the principle of unfairness in treating similar facts, on different occasions in a different manner. In discussi ng about these issues, calculation of damages in relation to a legal dispute is essential especially in diminution values. Diminution of values depicts a measure of value that can be termed lost as owed to circumstances causing loss. Diminutive in value is a measure on an items value prior to and subsequent to the ideal act or an omission done to create the value lost to ensure calculation of compensation changes. Relating to theories available in legal damages this type of value in mostly used for damages related to special compensations (Johnson 76). The principles of damages and their calculability Before damages can be recovered, there must be a wrong committed (M11). Even if a loss has been incurred, damages cannot be awarded absent a wrong or invasion of a legal right (M11). The objective of damages is to give the claimant compensation for the loss or injury he or she has suffered, as a result of a breach of duty or right owed to the claimant (M12). Damages in fraud are econom ic losses that include all financial and material losses, such as loss of profits incurred or loss of value. (M12). These losses on their face can be measured financially. The general purpose of damages is to award the claimant an amount of money that will put him or her in the same position had he or she not been wronged (M13). The rule however is not absolute. There are limitations where the compensation