Damages beyond reach
13 September 2012
The doctrine of privity and 'no loss' rules can still prevent third parties from claiming damages when contracts are breached. Paul Abbiati examines the implications of a recent case
In contract law, the doctrine of privity states that only the parties to a contract have the right to sue for a breach. Third parties - those that are not parties to the contract but may be affected by its performance - have no such rights. In addition, a party to a contract can only claim for losses that it has suffered itself. When the losses fall on, say, a third...