Interests Protected

This lesson is one of a series on the topic of "Compensatory Damages." This particular lesson explores the differences among each of the three main types of legally-protected "interests" most commonly involved in any damages case: the expectation interest, the reliance interest, and the restitution interest. It is designed as an "Introduction" to the basic distinctions among each of these different interests, as well as a practical guide to determining when one interest should be asserted instead of another.

For beginning students, this lesson should not be attempted until the "Basic Terminologies in Compensatory Damages" lesson has been completed. Students who have already completed foundational courses in "Contracts" may wish to use this lesson as a review of these same basic "Damages" terminologies, or to better understand more complex issues presented by other courses in which substantive Damages issues or remedies issues may be presented. For comparative purposes designed to illustrate the various distinctions among each of these three different types of legally-protected damages "interests," this lesson focuses primarily upon contract damage examples.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the lesson, the student will be able to:

1. Describe the three main categories of "interests" that may be asserted in any damages case, depending upon the type of injury, as well as the individual circumstances involved.
2. Discuss the purpose of the expectancy (or expectation) interest.
3. Discuss the purpose of the reliance interest.
4. Discuss the purpose of the restitution interest.
5. Explain how the three categories of interests are interrelated.