This section is from the book "The Law Of Contracts", by Samuel Williston. Also available from Amazon: Treatise on the Law of Contracts.
Contracts of employment...........................................1358
Mitigation or enhancement of damages...............................1359
Burden of proof............................................... 1380
Employee's right to sue for future wages.............................. 1361
Employee's recovery where trial precedes the expiration of contract.......1362
Contract for a particular service..................................... 1363
Seller of goods may recover price where property has passed............1364
Recovery of price allowed in some jurisdictions where property has not passed.......................................................... 1365
Decisions under Statute of Frauds as basis of rule...................... 1366
Restriction of New York rule........................................ 1367
Rule often condemned, but just..................................... 1368
Rule thought anomalous, and opposed by some authorities..............1369
Defrauded seller may specifically enforce his rights..................... 1370
So in cases of mistake, duress, infancy, or insanity..................... 1371
So in case of unpaid seller........................................... 1372
Rescission of title by buyer........................................ 1373
Conditional sales.................................................. 1374
Executory contracts................................................ 1375
Summary of reasons for allowing seller to recover price................. 1376
The Civil law...................................................... 1377
Measure of damages for non-acceptance of goods....................... 1378
Seller's damages where goods have no market value.................... 1378
Seller's damages where he has not obtained the goods.................. 1380
Damages for failure to deliver goods when property has passed.......... 1381
Allowance of higher subsequent value................................ 1382
Buyer is entitled to the difference between the market and contract prices... 1383
Buyer's damages where there is no market price........................ 1384
Limitation of the buyer's right to recover the difference between the market price and the contract price....................................... 1385
Other cases where the buyer's damages are limited..................... 1386
Delivery of too small a quantity..................................... 1387
Deficient delivery under instalment contract.......................... 1388
Deficient delivery where contract is entire............................ 1389
Damages for delay in delivery....................................... 1390
Damages for defective quality - general rule........................... 1391
Restricted rule of damages for fraud................................. 1392
Consequential damages for breach of warranty of quality............... 1393
Further illustrations................................................ 1394
Action for breach of warranty of title................................ 1395
Damages for breach of warranty of title.............................. 1396
Damages for anticipatory breach.................................... 1307
Contract to pay a sum of money in goods............................. 1308
Contracts for the sale of land........................................ 1399
Delay in performing contract for sale of land........................ . 1400
Breach of covenants in deeds........................................ 1401
Damages for breach of covenant of warranty.......................... 1402
Landlord's right to rent............................................ 1403
Covenants in leases................................................ 1404
Contract to give a lease............................................ 1406
Negative agreements............................................... 1406
Alternative contracts............................................... 1407
Damages for failure to pay a promisee's debt.......................... 1406
Promises to indemnify.............................................. 1400
Contract to pay money............................................. 1410
Contract to lend money............................................ 1411
Nature of interest.................................................. 1412
On what claims interest is allowed as damages......................... 1413.
Interest on a penal bond............................................ 1414
Interest on quasi-contractual obligations.............................. 1415
Bate of interest.................................................... 1416
Compound interest................................................. 1417
If an employer fails to pay the promised wages or salary after the employee has completed his services or any divisible portion of them for which separate payment was promised, the measure of damages is the amount of money which was promised. If the employee was wrongfully discharged before fully completing his service he is entitled to recover not only for any divisible portion of his promised salary which he has already earned, but for the injury caused him by not allowing him to complete his services and earn the promised reward.1 The rule of avoidable consequences here finds frequent application. The obvious consequence of this injury is the failure of the employee to receive the pay which he was promised, but on the other hand his time is left at his own disposal. If the employee remains idle the loss of his pay is actually suffered without deduction. If, however, the employee can obtain other employment he can avoid part at least of these damages. Therefore, in an action by the employee, the net amount of what he earned, or what he might reasonably have earned in other employment will be deducted from what he would have received.2 This is in effect giving to the employee the difference in value between the contract price for his labor and its value when used in other directions. The rule is therefore in effect the same as in a contract to buy and sell goods except that services of a particular man can never be regarded as having a definite market value in the same sense as standard goods have, and, therefore, the particular use which an employee is able to make of his time after breach of contract is always important, while in contracts for the sale of goods the use which the seller in fact makes of the goods is not so often material.3 Moreover, human feelings must be taken into account in contracts of employment. An employee " employed in a special service ... is not obliged to engage in a business that is not of the same general character, in order to mitigate the defendant's damages.'4
1 See supra,Sec. 1028
2 In re English Joint Stock Bank,
 
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