Can a contractor recover mental distress damages for breach of peace of mind?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Boutsakis v. Kakavelakis, 2010 BCSC 1077 (CanLII):
Later in paras. 48-49: Principle suggests that as long as the promise in relation to state of mind is a part of the bargain in the reasonable contemplation of the contracting parties, mental distress damages arising from its breach are recoverable. This is to state neither more nor less than the rule in Hadley v. Baxendale. We conclude that the “peace of mind” class of cases should not be viewed as an exception to the general rule of the non-availability of damages for mental distress in contract law, but rather as an application of the reasonable contemplation or foreseeability principle that applies generally to determine the availability of damages for breach of contract.
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