levo

Contract: Remedies

Causation and remoteness of damage

  • 3 things to know
  • Components 2 and 3

Overview

Rule on remoteness of damage in contract, first limb of Hadley v Baxendale and second limb of Hadley v Baxendale.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

What must a claimant prove about causation?

Numbers

Which case shows a breach that was the occasion rather than the cause?

Key term

How can an intervening act break the chain of causation?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What must a claimant prove about causation?

    Model answer

    The claimant must prove that the breach caused the loss claimed. The breach need not be the only cause, but it must be an effective one.

  2. 2

    Which case shows a breach that was the occasion rather than the cause?

    Model answer

    Quinn v Burch Bros (Builders) Ltd [1966] concerned a contractor who failed to supply a stepladder. The plasterer's decision to use an unfooted trestle broke the chain of causation.

  3. 3

    How can an intervening act break the chain of causation?

    Model answer

    An unreasonable act by the claimant or a third party may break the chain. The defendant is not liable for loss caused by that independent decision.

  4. 4

    What is the rule on remoteness of damage in contract?

    Model answer

    Hadley v Baxendale (1854) restricts recovery to losses arising naturally or within the parties' contemplation. Losses outside both limbs are too remote.

  5. 5

    What were the facts of Hadley v Baxendale (1854)?

    Model answer

    Hadley v Baxendale (1854) concerned a delayed delivery of a broken mill shaft by a carrier. Loss of profits during the stoppage was too remote, because the carrier had not been told the mill would stand idle.

  6. 6

    What is the first limb of Hadley v Baxendale?

    Model answer

    The first limb covers loss arising naturally in the usual course of things. The defendant needs no special knowledge of that kind of loss.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Parliamentary and European Law Making
Delegated Legislation
Statutory Interpretation
Judicial Precedent

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

The court sits in .
StrasbourgLondonParis

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AAn interim injunction restrains publication before trial.
BPublication cannot be undone.
CAn injunction may be the only effective remedy.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

A Public Bill changes the general law.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Contract: Remedies, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.