What is the test for damages under a contract?

The defendant argues that the principles relating to damages arising from contract were established in the case of Hadley v. Baxendale (1854), 9 Exch. 341; 156 E.R. 145, and that the claimant must be restored to the position he was in had the damages not occurred; that is, to put the plaintiff (in this case plaintiff by counterclaim) in the position he would have achieved if the contract were performed as at the date of breach. Hadley v. Baxendale expands on this basic rule in two ways, by defining normal damages which would occur in the normal course of things and secondly looking at abnormal damages which arise because of exceptional circumstances. Those circumstances should have been contemplated by both parties and should be attributable to the party breaking the contract only if he knew of such special circumstances.