Also known as: mitigate loss · mitigating loss · mitigation of loss · mitigation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
An alternative to foreclosure offered by a creditor to a homeowner in default or facing imminent default. The creditor must inform the homeowner of available options and evaluate requests for them.
An alternative to foreclosure offered by a creditor to a homeowner in default or facing imminent default. The creditor must inform the homeowner of available options and evaluate requests for them.
Lillian Locke sought a development permit from the water district. The district required her to fund off-site wetlands restoration as a condition. The Supreme Court treated the required payment as a potential loss-mitigation alternative that still triggered takings scrutiny because it went beyond addressing the project's direct impacts.
The principle that reduces recoverable damages when the defendant's tortious conduct confers a special benefit on the interest of the plaintiff that was harmed. The value of the benefit offsets damages to the extent equity permits.
Lamar Lewis's negligent driving damaged Lola Langley's warehouse but also prompted an insurance payout that covered repairs and added security upgrades. The court credited the insurance benefit against the tort damages because the payout directly mitigated the property loss caused by the same conduct.
The principle that reduces recoverable damages when the defendant's tortious conduct confers a special benefit on the interest of the plaintiff that was harmed. The value of the benefit offsets damages to the extent equity permits.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
The lender must inform the homeowner of available loss-mitigation options, evaluate any request, and refrain from misleading statements that discourage participation.
Laura Lewis sued a cigarette manufacturer after developing lung cancer. The jury found her 60 percent responsible for continued smoking after warnings. Under comparative fault rules her damages were reduced by that percentage because her conduct constituted a failure to mitigate her own loss.
Lucas Lee purchased a new car whose paint job was defective. BMW concealed the repainting from him. The jury awarded substantial punitive damages. The Supreme Court required reduction because the actual and potential harm to Lee was limited and the award had to account for the degree of loss actually suffered.
Levi Lowe signed an employment agreement containing an arbitration clause that limited remedies. The California Supreme Court held the clause unconscionable in part because it prevented employees from pursuing full mitigation of lost wages through ordinary litigation procedures.
Lola Langley contracted to star in a musical film. The studio replaced the project with a different story requiring a supporting role. The court held she had no duty to mitigate by accepting the inferior part because it was not substantially similar employment and would have injured her reputation.
When the defendant's tortious conduct confers a special benefit on the exact interest harmed, the value of that benefit reduces the plaintiff's damages to the extent equity allows.
No. Recovery is permitted when mitigation efforts were reasonable even if unsuccessful, or when proposed mitigation would impose undue burden or humiliation.
A buyer who covers in good faith and without unreasonable delay may recover the price differential plus incidental and consequential damages that could not reasonably have been prevented.
A clause is unenforceable when the stipulated amount is unreasonable in light of anticipated or actual loss and the difficulties of proof, functioning instead as a deterrent rather than compensation.
…to B-50. [^maj-4]: The Supreme Court of Oregon did not address the consequences of petitioner's failure to provide alternative mitigation measures in her variance application and we take the case as it comes to us. Accordingly, we do not pass on the constitutionality of the city's variance provisions. [^maj-5]: Justice…