Also known as: double recoveries · double dipping
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A judgment or award that compensates a party for the same loss more than once. The prohibition prevents a claimant from obtaining overlapping damages under separate theories or from multiple parties when the total exceeds the actual harm sustained.
Daniel Diaz leased space from Dynamic Solutions for his electronics store. Dynamic Solutions failed to repair the roof as required, forcing Daniel to vacate and lose inventory. Daniel recovered the fair market value of the lease plus reimbursement for his pre-default improvements. The court refused to add a separate award for the same inventory loss already covered by the lease-value measure.
Dwight Dorsey suffered a disabling workplace injury. His wife Delilah Duran later sued the same employer for loss of consortium. The court permitted Delilah's claim only after confirming that Dwight's prior recovery had not already included compensation for the identical loss of services and companionship.
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A court finds double recovery when the same loss is compensated under two different theories or from two different parties beyond the actual harm. The Restatement bars such overlap in landlord-tenant damages calculations.
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Courts historically denied a wife's consortium claim when the husband had already recovered for lost services in his own action. Modern decisions allow the claim but require procedural safeguards to prevent the same loss from being paid twice.
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Yes. When a buyer covers and also receives an award for lost profits on a resale contract, the court subtracts any amount already compensated through the cover measure to avoid paying the same loss twice.
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…the wife indirectly recovers for the value of any loss of her consortium . Any other conclusion, they reason, would result in a double recovery. The husband, on the other hand, is allowed the action when the wife is injured, because she is under no corresponding duty to him.[^maj-15] Of course, as we have already pointed out, there…