Also known as: special damage
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Compensatory damages for a harm other than one for which general damages are given.
BrightPath Tutors refused to vacate classrooms after its lease expired on July 31. Hope Academy, the incoming tenant scheduled to open on August 15, incurred costs for temporary facilities, busing, and lost per-pupil funding. The court awards Hope Academy the reasonably foreseeable and unavoidable losses caused by the holdover.
Sterling Manufacturing contracted to repair Samuel Soto's production line by a set date. The repair was late, forcing the factory to halt operations for two weeks and lose specific customer orders. Soto recovers the lost profits that were a direct result of the delay.
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Sentinel Security published private financial details about Skylar Sullivan without consent. Sullivan proves that the disclosure caused a specific client to cancel a contract and incur measurable revenue loss. The court permits recovery of that economic harm traceable to the invasion.
A publication falsely accused Sofia Stern of professional misconduct. Stern did not plead any out-of-pocket loss from the statements. The court dismisses the claim for failure to allege the required itemized harm.
Sebastian Santos directed the sale of Sierra Solutions' exchange-traded contracts without authority. Prices rose sharply within days of the sale. The company seeks recovery of the difference between the sale price and the later peak value it could have captured.
Dun & Bradstreet published a false report stating that Sasha Stone's business had filed for bankruptcy. Stone proved actual injury to reputation but offered no evidence of specific monetary loss. The court limits recovery to proven harm rather than presumed damages.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(g) requires that any item of special damage be specifically stated in the pleading. General damages need not be itemized because they are presumed to flow from the wrong, but special damages must be detailed so the defendant knows the precise losses claimed.
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General damages compensate for harms that normally result from the tort and need not be pleaded specifically. Special damages cover other harms that must be proved with particularity, such as pecuniary losses or consequential injuries that do not ordinarily follow from the defendant's conduct.
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The tenant must have been able to reasonably foresee at the time of holding over that the conduct would cause the specific losses. The injured party must also show that it could not reasonably have avoided the damages, unless equitable considerations justify relief.
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Yes. When a tenant holds over and prevents an incoming tenant from taking possession, the incoming tenant may recover the special damages caused by the holdover if they were reasonably foreseeable and unavoidable.
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A plaintiff who establishes invasion of privacy may recover special damages that are a legal cause of the invasion in addition to harm to privacy interests and proved mental distress. The special damages must be shown to result from the privacy violation.
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…for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted, apparently on the ground that petitioner failed to allege special damages. But the court ruled that statements contained in the article constituted libel per se under Illinois law and that consequently petitioner need not plead special damages. After answering…