Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

First, it depends to some extent on which party has breached. Contracts differ in the roles of the parties and the mutuality of the remedies. Think of it - you have manufacturer and distributor; homeowner and builder; business seller and business buyer; and so on, ad nauseum, different kinds of contracts and roles of contracting parties.

There are some general rules. Rarely, a party may be entitled to so-called "specific performance," where the breaching party may be ordered by the court to carry out the exact terms of the contract, e.g., to sell Blackacre to the buyer. More often, the non-breaching party is entitled to money damages giving him "the benefit of the bargain," i.e., out-of-pocket damages plus expected profit from the deal had the contract not been breached.

Very frequently, the issue becomes "consequential damages" for downstream harm resulting from the breach. An example: You sell me an alarm clock. It doesn't work right, so I miss my flight to Hong Kong to close a big deal. Am I entitled to damages of $10, what I paid for the defective alarm clock, or $1 million, my loss by not getting to Hong Kong to sign my big deal? This is a pretty extreme example, but not toally ridiculous either. Lawyers could argue for days at trial over whether you were responsible for the downstream harm to me.

There is also the concept of a non-breaching party's right to damages for "cost to cover." Suppose I have a feed lot, fattening steers for slaughter. I contract with you in June for the 1,000 tons of high-protein soybean meal I'll need in December at $5 a hundredweight. In October there is a crop failure and you have no beans to mill and ship. I go into the marketplace and "cover" my needs at $13 a cwt., thus costing me an additional $160,000 (if my math is right). You will be liable for my additional costs to get the feed I contracted for.

Punitive damages are almost never available in contract cases.

I hope this covers your question adequately.

It depends on what is involved. Could be monetary or non-monetary such as injunctive relief or specific performance. Need more information to get you a better answer.