4530. Owners Damages for Breach of Construction Contract Work Does Not Conform to Contract

4530. Owner's Damages for Breach of Construction Contract--Work Does Not Conform to Contract Instruction No 1 Request by Plaintiff Given as Proposed Refused Withdrawn Request by Defendant Given as Modified Requested by Given on Court's Motion Judge Instruction No 1 If you decide that [name of plaintiff] has proved [his/her] claim against [name of defendant] for failure to properly build the [project/describe construction project, e.g., apartment building], you also must decide how much money will reasonably compensate [name of plaintiff] for the harm. This compensation is called "damages." To recover damages, [name of plaintiff] must prove the reasonable cost of repairing the [project/short term for project, e.g., building] so that it complies with the terms of the contract, including the plans and specifications, agreed to by the parties. If, however, [name of defendant] proves that the cost of repair is unreasonable in light of the damage to the property and the property's value after repair, then [name of plaintiff] is entitled only to the difference between the value of the [project/short term for project, e.g., remodeling] as it was performed by [name of defendant] and what it would be worth if it had been completed according to the contract, including the plans and specifications, agreed to by the parties. The cost of repair may be unreasonable if the repair would require the destruction of a substantial part of [name of defendant]'s work. ________________________________________________________________________________ New December 2010