Utah Breach of contract

The elements of a prima facie case for breach of contract are

(1) a contract,

(2) performance by the party seeking recovery,

(3) breach of the contract by the other party, and

(4) damages. See Nuttall v. Berntson, 83 Utah 535, 543, 30 P.2d 738, 741 (1934).

Bair v. Axiom Design, L.L.C., 2001 UT 20, 20 P.3d 388, 392

“[d]amages recoverable for breach of contract include both general damages, i.e., those flowing naturally from the breach, and consequential damages, i.e., those reasonably within the contemplation of, or reasonably foreseeable by, the parties at the time the contract was made.” Beck, 701 P.2d at 801. We recognized that in appropriate circumstances, “consequential damages for breach of contract may reach beyond the bare contract terms,” id. at 801-02 (citing Bevan v. J.H. Constr. Co., 669 P.2d 442, 444 (Utah 1983); Pacific Coast Title Ins. Co. v. Hartford Accident & Indem. Co., 7 Utah 2d 377, 325 P.2d 906, 908 (1958)), and therefore, that the monetary limits of an insurance policy do not invariably define the amount for which the insurer may be liable upon a breach. Billings v. Union Bankers Ins. Co., 918 P.2d 461, 466 (Utah 1996)

First Breach Rule:

“[U]nder the ‘first breach’ rule ‘a party first guilty of a substantial or material breach of contract cannot complain if the other party thereafter refuses to perform.’ ” CCD, L.C. v. Millsap, 2005 UT 42, ¶ 29, 116 P.3d 366 (quoting Jackson v. Rich, 28 Utah 2d 134, 499 P.2d 279, 280 (1972)). “ ‘He can neither insist on performance by the other party nor maintain an action against the other party for a subsequent failure to perform.’ ” Id. (quoting Rich, 499 P.2d at 280).

Bonneville Distrib. Co. v. Green River Dev. Associates, Inc., 2007 UT App 175, 164 P.3d 433, 442

Lack of damages - Summary Judgment

¶ 9 In order to preclude the entry of summary judgment on claims for breach of contract and waste, Plaintiffs must raise material issues of fact pertaining to actual damages.4 Both of Plaintiffs' causes of action require damages as an essential element of proof.12 ¶ 10 A breach of contract claim requires four essential elements of proof, one of which is damages. See Bair v. Axiom Design, L.L.C., 2001 UT 20, ¶ 14, 20 P.3d 388 (“The elements of a prima facie case for breach of contract are (1) a contract, (2) performance by the party seeking recovery, (3) breach of contract by the other party, and (4) damages.”). Breach of contract damages seek to place the aggrieved party in the same economic position the party would have been in if the contract was not breached. See Mahmood v. Ross, 1999 UT 104, ¶ 19, 990 P.2d 933 (“ ‘As a general rule, legal damages serve the important purpose of compensating an injured party for actual injury sustained, so that she may be restored, as nearly as possible, to the position she was in prior to the injury.’ ” (quoting Castillo v. Atlanta Cas. Co., 939 P.2d 1204, 1209 (Utah Ct.App.1997))).

Eleopulos v. McFarland & Hullinger, LLC, 2006 UT App 352, 145 P.3d 1157, 1159