Virginia Code 59.1-508.7: Measurement of damages in general
(a) Except as otherwise provided in the contract, an aggrieved party may not recover compensation for that part of a loss which could have been avoided by taking measures reasonable under the circumstances to avoid or reduce loss. The burden of establishing a failure of the aggrieved party to take measures reasonable under the circumstances is on the party in breach of contract.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 59.1-508.7
- Aggrieved party: means a party entitled to a remedy for breach of contract. See Virginia Code 59.1-501.2
- Agreement: means the bargain of the parties in fact as found in their language or by implication from other circumstances, including course of performance, course of dealing, and usage of trade as provided in this chapter. See Virginia Code 59.1-501.2
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Contract: means the total legal obligation resulting from the parties' agreement as affected by this chapter and other applicable law. See Virginia Code 59.1-501.2
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Includes: means includes, but not limited to. See Virginia Code 1-218
- Information: means data, text, images, sounds, mask works, or computer programs, including collections and compilations of them. See Virginia Code 59.1-501.2
- Informational content: means information that is intended to be communicated to or perceived by an individual in the ordinary use of the information, or the equivalent of that information. See Virginia Code 59.1-501.2
- Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
- Party: means a person that engages in a transaction or makes an agreement under this chapter. See Virginia Code 59.1-501.2
(b) A party may not recover:
(1) consequential damages for losses resulting from the content of published informational content unless the agreement expressly so provides; or
(2) damages that are speculative.
(c) The remedy for breach of contract for disclosure or misuse of information that is a trade secret or in which the aggrieved party has a right of confidentiality includes as consequential damages compensation for the benefit obtained as a result of the breach.
(d) For purposes of this chapter, market value is determined as of the date of breach of contract and the place for performance.
(e) Damages or expenses that relate to events after the date of entry of judgment must be reduced to their present value as of that date. In this subsection, “present value” means the amount, as of a date certain, of one or more sums payable in the future or the value of one or more performances due in the future, discounted to the date certain. The discount is determined by the interest rate specified by the parties in their agreement unless that rate was manifestly unreasonable when the agreement was entered into. Otherwise, the discount is determined by a commercially reasonable rate that takes into account the circumstances of each case when the agreement was entered into.