Duty to mitigate - sustany/dvg GitHub Wiki

The duty to mitigate refers to a party�s obligation to make reasonable efforts to limit the harm they suffer from another party�s actions. Parties have a duty to mitigate in both torts and breaches of contracts.�Failure to discharge this duty to mitigate precludes the recovery of�damages�that could have been avoided through reasonable efforts.

For example:�

• If A agrees to sell B 100 apples for $5 each, and later refuses to sell those apples, B must look for a new apple seller before they can sue A for damages because of B�s duty to mitigate.
• Because the overarching goal of contract law is to place parties in the same situation they would have been in had no breach of contract occurred, A�s liability for the breach will decrease if B can successfully find a new apple seller through reasonable means.
• If B can find someone else to sell�100 apples for $6 each, B can only recover $100 from A for the breach because $100 would place B in the same situation as if no breach had occurred.
• Additionally, if B fails to search for a new apple seller, A is absolved of liability for the breach.