Liquidated And Ascertained Damages
Under English law, a breach of contract may give rise to two types of damages: liquidated damages and ascertained damages.
Liquidated damages are those Breach of Contract that the parties to a contract themselves agree in advance should be paid in the event of breach. They are also known as ‘penalty clauses’ or ‘ Liquidated And Ascertained Damages ‘. The penalty must be a genuine pre-estimate of damage suffered as a result of the breach: if it is not, it will be unenforceable.
Ascertained damages, on the other hand, are those that are not determined by the parties to the contract in advance but by a court after a breach has occurred. The court will look at what loss was suffered as a result of the breach and award damages accordingly.