What Exactly is CACI? A Primer
The California Civil Jury Instructions (CACI), introduced in 2003, are a standardized set of guidelines issued by the Judicial Council of California. Their purpose is to provide a clear and consistent legal framework to assist judges and juries in resolving disputes over a range of issues, including breach of contract. Essentially, these instructions are designed to standardize jury perceptions and understanding of the judicial matters dealt during the litigation process. The goal is to ensure that all parties in trial receive a fair and accurate evaluation of the facts at hand.
The CACI instructions are updated regularly , and today encompass settled jury instructions, judicial standards for evaluating evidence, and jury verdict forms across a wide variety of topics, from insurance to business practices. The CACI instructions are comprised of more than 400 legal guidelines, so defendants and plaintiffs often need the help of an experienced attorney to interpret them. CACI guidelines start with definitions, then lay out the basic, general principles of law, and finally incorporate legal precedents and individual judgments.
Breach of Contract in the CACI Framework
CACI provides the legal framework for defining a breach of contract, and courts are instructed to use these definitions as they provide "helpful guidelines for defining contract concepts that are not specially defined." (CACI 3200a.) A breach of contract "is the failure of a party to perform any term of a contract without a legitimate legal excuse." (CACI 3201.) Under California law, there are three types of breaches: minor, material, and anticipatory.
A minor or slight breach is one that does not go to the essence of the contract, but rather is "merely a partial breach that causes no harm to the innocent party." (CACI 3203.) The law does not require a party who has committed a minor breach to compensate for every defect or impairment, though the innocent party is entitled to recover compensatory damages for a minor breach that is "reasonably proportioned to the loss caused by" the breach. (CACI 3206.)
A material breach, on the other hand, "goes to the essence of the agreement" and "discharges the injured party from any further duty to perform." (CACI 3204.) An injured party is so discharged "if there is no substantial benefit from the breach performance to the injured party," and if the injury caused under the breach "cannot be compensated by damages." (CACI 3204a.)
Anticipatory breach "occurs when a party to a contract communicates to the other that he or she will not be performing a specific duty" at some point in the future. (CACI 3257.) The law requires, however, that the innocent party treat an anticipatory breach as a total breach and Southern Pacific Co. v. Gillett (1907) 152 Cal. 131 an be relieved of their performance obligations. (Ibid.) If an innocent party does not treat an anticipatory breach as a total breach, they may still recover for the breach if the party "either deliberately remained ready and available to perform or performed some of the contract despite knowing that the breaching party would not perform." (CACI 3257a.)
Key Elements Needed to Establish a Breach of Contract Lawsuit
The required elements to prove a breach of contract are: 1) the existence of a contract; 2) plaintiff’s performance (or excuse for non-performance); 3) breach by (the defendant); and 4) damages. CACIs 303, 303, 304. Plaintiff alleges the existence of a contract written in the form of [describe writing, e.g., lease, license, employment handbook, offer letter, E-mail]. That document may be considered a contact if it is a mutual agreement between plaintiff and defendant to do or not do something. But it does not have to be written. An oral contract may exist. A contract may also be created by a course of conduct, or based on the parties’ customs, or by their trade usage. CACIs 303. Plaintiff performed the contract by [plaintiff’s performance]. Defendant breached the contract by [defendant’s breach]. The breach caused the loss of the bargain [the party would have realized from full performance of the contract terms]. CACIs 303. Plaintiff suffered damages as a legal result of the breach. CACIs 303. Economic damage from a breach of contract, not physical or emotional injury, is a special damage. CACIs 1601. Between the finding of liability and establishing damages, the defendant is liable to plaintiff for all reasonably certain (as a rule, reasonably possible) damages. The amount should put plaintiff in the position he would have been had there been no breach. But plaintiff did not have to release defendant from its promise for the liability to exist. CACIs 1621.
Common Defenses to Breach of Contract Claims
Given the prevalence of breach of contract cases, particularly in contracts relating to the sale of goods or services, the California Model Jury Instructions, or CACI, provide a variety of defenses against such claims. The defendant may raise the defense of lack of mutual assent in that there lacks agreement between the parties as to the contract subject matter. A claim for rescission, which seeks the undoing or cancelation of a contract, can be used by the defendant as a defense to a breach of contract claim. The doctrine of impossibility, in which an event occurs that makes performance impossible, can be used as a defense to breach of contract. Waiver and estoppel can also be raised by the defendant to oppose a breach of contract claim.
As a general rule, one party to a contract cannot be held liable for breach of contract, if the other party to the contract did not perform its obligations under the contract . A claim for breach of contract can be used defensively by the defendant to contend that the plaintiff has not performed its obligations under the contract.
Statute of limitation can be asserted as a defense by the defendant to assert that the plaintiff has waited too long to file its claim. If the plaintiff has failed to file within the appropriate period, then the claim can be barred on statute of limitation grounds.
The defendant can claim the contract was unconscionable, which generally means that the contract is so unfair that it is at odds with good faith and equitable commercial standards. The contracting parties have the option of including a force majeure clause to protect against unusual interference that interrupts performance. The defendant may raise the defense that the plaintiff has waived the time for performance. Delay beyond the time allotted by the contract to perform does not bar a recovery from the defendant if the defendant has not been prejudiced by the delay.
Legal Recourse for a Breach of Contract under the CACI Standard
A legal remedy for breach of contract seeks to remedy the harm caused by the broken agreement. Generally speaking, a plaintiff will seek an award of money, known as compensatory damages. Compensatory damages in a breach of contract action are meant to make the plaintiff "whole." That is, the damages are supposed to equal the amount the plaintiff lost because of the breach. In other words, the plaintiff should recover what he/she would have received had the contract been performed according to its terms.
In some cases, however, the plaintiff cannot be made whole by money damages alone. When this happens, a plaintiff may be entitled to additional forms of relief, such as specific performance and restitution. Again, the purpose of a remedy is to make the aggrieved party whole. An award of damages is meaningless if, for example, the plaintiff entered into a contract to purchase a singular, family heirloom when the item is the only heirloom of its kind left to the family. Thus, specific performance may be appropriate in those cases where money damages just don’t do the job.
In the context of a breach of contract action, specific performance requires the defendant to make good on the promise he/she made pursuant to the agreement. So, if Defendant wrongfully breached the parties’ sales agreement, Plaintiff may seek to compel Defendant to sell to Plaintiff the item at issue rather than seek further compensatory damages. Specific performance is typically kept in the judge’s discretion, but should the court elect to order specific performance, it must also state upon the record why legal remedies are insufficient.
Restitution, on the other hand, prevents two things: (1) the breaching party from getting away with unjust enrichment; and (2) the aggrieved party from leaving empty-handed after fulfilling his/her obligations under the agreement. In other words, restitution is about preventing and/or correcting unjust enrichment. When a plaintiff seeks restitution, he/she is not seeking damages based on what the plaintiff was due under the contract but rather because he/she performed according to the terms of the contract but received nothing in return.
If the plaintiff performs under the contract, but the defendant has failed to perform, then the plaintiff may have grounds to recover restitution. For example, the plaintiff may have completed services required under the contract but the defendant refused to pay. This is where restitution becomes useful. A recovering plaintiff may receive up to the reasonable value of the service(s) performed.
How to Commence a Breach of Contract Lawsuit
If you’ve been wronged by a breach of contract, you can file a lawsuit against your debtor in court for damages. Filing a breach of contract lawsuit follows a fairly straightforward pathway.
1. Filing the Complaint
To start, you, the aggrieved party, must file your complaint – the document used to initiate a civil case in California. This document is formal notice served on the opposing party as well as the court to let both parties know that a lawsuit has begun.
Your complaint must include:
• The names and contact information for both you and the defendant
• A clear description of each defendant’s involvement in the case, including facts and legal support for each allegation
• The dollar amount you seek in damages
• The relief you want from the court
2. Serving the Defendant
After you file your complaint with the court, the next step is to serve the other party via personal service or by mail. This must occur within 60 days of filing your complaint.
3. Responding to the Demand
Once the other party receives your demand for compensation, they will have 30 days to respond. They have the option of either replying (this is called a "general denial"), filing a cross complaint/counterclaim against you (also called a "cross-complaint") to pursue their own damages, or requesting a change of venue where the case will be heard.
4. Parties’ Disclosure Statements
Following successful replies/responses to the complaint , the parties will be required to provide each other with written disclosures of evidence. Each party will:
• Lend copies of all relevant documents, electronically stored information, and tangible things for the other party to inspect and copy
• Tender the last known address for each person they think might have discoverable information
• Provide a privilege log of information that might otherwise be discoverable, but that the attorney believes is protected by state law
• State the names of witnesses the party expects to call, along with their contact information and a description of what they know
• Provide a computation of damages
5. Discovery Requests and Responses
Discovery allows both sides to ask for evidence from the other party – namely by taking oral depositions, written interrogatories, producing documents, issuing subpoenas and taking physical and mental exams. During this time, the parties are expected to maintain open communication and provide honest responses.
6. Pretrial Motions and Settlement Negotiations
In the final months of the litigation, the parties may engage in pretrial motions and settlement negotiations. This might include mediation, arbitration, neutral evaluation and mini-trial to seek resolution before resorting to litigation. If the parties can’t agree, the judge will set a date for trial.
7. Trial
The case goes to trial no more than two years after the original filing, and at least 75 days before the trial date, the plaintiff must file a statement of damages in writing.