Defenses To Contract Damages In New York

Defendants who face breach of contract damages claims can assert several defenses to mitigate, or altogether eliminate, a potential award of damages against them. It is up to counsel to assert these affirmative defenses at the time a defendant responds to the allegations asserted in the lawsuit's complaint.

The first such defense is that of duplicative damages. The law is equitable in that it prohibits plaintiffs, even successful plaintiffs with strong cases, from recovering twice for a single breach or circumstance. Similarly, a defendant can assert double recovery as a defense which, if successful, would bar the plaintiff from recovering under two or more claims because such recovery would amount to an impermissible double recovery.