Good Primer on Installment Contract Damages
April 8, 2015In this simple breach of contract case, the defendant agreed to pay the plaintiff approximately $8,000 through installment payments of $75 per month. After paying $2,500, the defendant stopped making the monthly payments and the plaintiff brought this lawsuit. After a trial, a jury awarded the plaintiff the remaining balance on the contract–just over $5,500.
The Dallas Court of Appeals affirmed the jury’s findings, but remitted the damages award to $1,200 because there was no acceleration provision in the contract and the evidence only established that the defendant had failed to make a total of sixteen payments. The Court reasoned that absent an acceleration clause or a repudiation, the defendant was only entitled to recover the past due payments under the installment agreement, not the entire remaining balance. Consequently, the Court ordered a remittitur.
