Specific Performance

• Specific performance is proper for unique goods, such as rare artwork.Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
  
  Specific performance laws allow Michigan courts to enforce the precise terms of a contract. Courts grant specific performance in cases in which money damages are inadequate to restore a damaged party. Specific performance is proper in cases in which contract goods or property are rare or unique. For example, an art gallery that breaches a contract to sell a rare painting may be required to produce the exact painting purchased. However, if the artwork were a common reproduction, the court would likely grant money damages, since another gallery could provide the item.
  
  

Money Damages

• Michigan courts award money damages in breach-of-contract cases.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Money awards are the most common remedy for Michigan breach of contract cases. A non-breaching party is entitled to compensation to cover losses sustained from a broken contract. This compensation may include the difference between the contract price and replacement costs. For example, suppose a party reserves the last room at a hotel for a rate of $100 but the hotel wrongfully rents the room to someone else. The intended guest may recover $50.00 if he must pay $150 to stay at a comparable hotel.
  
  

Liquidated Damages

• Liquidated damages must relate to a probable loss.Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images
  
  A contract may specify a fixed amount of liquidated damages to be paid in the event of a breach. Liquidated damages must be based on anticipated losses and may not serve as a penalty or punishment. For instance, a $1 million liquidated damages clause in a contract for the sale of a $500 car would count as an unenforceable penalty.
  
  

Mitigation of Damages

• Michigan law requires an attempt to mitigate damages.Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
  
  A non-breaching party must take reasonable steps to curb losses following a breach. The non-breaching party may not deliberately or carelessly allow losses to compound. For example, suppose a tenant breaks a one-year lease contract by vacating an apartment early. The landlord must make an effort to mitigate her loss by seeking an alternate tenant. Michigan law only requires a good-faith effort to mitigate. If mitigating losses is impossible, the breaching party is liable for the total amount of damages incurred.