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Australia Leading Case reliance damageswasted expenditureonusexpectation measure

Commonwealth of Australia v Amann Aviation Pty Ltd

[1991] HCA 54; (1991) 174 CLR 64
JurisdictionAustralia
CourtHigh Court of Australia
Year1991
StatusBinding authority

Key Principle

Reliance damages (wasted expenditure) are not a true alternative to the expectation measure but a means of estimating it; where the defendant's breach makes it impossible to prove what profit the plaintiff would have earned, the plaintiff is given the benefit of a rebuttable presumption that it would at least have recouped its reasonably incurred reliance expenditure.

Area of Law

Contract & Commercial

Related Cases

Lumbers v W Cook Builders Pty Ltd (in liquidation) [2008] HCA 27; (2008) 232 CLR 635
Pavey & Matthews Pty Ltd v Paul [1987] HCA 5; (1987) 162 CLR 221
Buckley v Tutty [1971] HCA 71; (1971) 125 CLR 353

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