British Westinghouse Electric v Underground Electric Railways
[1912] AC 673
Ratio Decidendi
The innocent party has a duty to mitigate their loss following a breach of contract. If the claimant takes reasonable steps in mitigation and those steps produce a benefit that exceeds the loss, the defendant is not liable for the original loss.
Ffeithiau
Underground Railways contracted to buy turbines from Westinghouse. The turbines were defective. Underground Railways replaced them with more efficient turbines from another manufacturer, which produced savings exceeding the original loss.
Crynodeb o'r dyfarniad
Viscount Haldane LC held that the savings from the replacement turbines had to be brought into account. The duty to mitigate required the claimant to act reasonably, and where reasonable mitigation produced a net benefit, the defendant was not liable.
Dyfyniadau allweddol
"The fundamental basis is compensation for pecuniary loss naturally flowing from the breach; but this first principle is qualified by a second, which imposes on a plaintiff the duty of taking all reasonable steps to mitigate the loss."
— Viscount Haldane LC
Triniaeth ddilynol
The leading authority on the duty to mitigate and the treatment of benefits arising from mitigation.