What type of damages are awarded when expectation damages are not available?

When expectation damages are not available, recission damages are awarded as a way to provide a remedy in contract disputes. Recission refers to the cancellation of a contract and aims to restore the parties to their original position before the contract was made. This is particularly relevant when an injured party cannot demonstrate the specific loss of profit or benefit they expected from the contract, which would be the basis for expectation damages.

Recission damages can come into play when a party needs to recover expenses incurred in reliance on the contract that has now been canceled, helping address the financial impact on that party due to the non-fulfillment of contractual obligations. Essentially, recission serves as a corrective measure to account for the reliance on the contract that has now been deemed unenforceable or breached.

In contrast, specific performance involves a court-ordered command requiring a party to fulfill their contractual obligations, which is applicable in cases where monetary damages are insufficient. Equitable damages are a broader category that includes remedies like injunctions but are not a specific type of damages awarded in this context. Nominal damages are minimal and typically awarded when a legal wrong has occurred but financial harm has not been established. Thus, recission damages are specifically designed to remedy situations when expectation damages are out of reach