Subsection 5: Compensation for loss resulting from non-performance of the contract

Unless the non-performance is definitive, damages are only payable if the debtor has first been given notice to perform within a reasonable period.

The debtor is ordered, where appropriate, to pay damages either for the non-performance of the obligation or for the delay in performance, if he does not prove that performance was prevented by force majeure.

Damages due to the creditor are, in general, for the loss he has made and the gain of which he has been deprived, subject to the exceptions and modifications below.

The debtor is only liable for damages which were provided for or could have been provided for when the contract was concluded, except where the non-performance is due to gross negligence or wilful misconduct.

Even where the non-performance of the contract is the result of gross negligence or wilful misconduct, damages only include what is an immediate and direct consequence of the non-performance.

Where the contract stipulates that the party who fails to perform it shall pay a certain sum by way of damages, no greater or lesser sum may be awarded to the other party. However, the judge may, even of his own motion, moderate or increase the penalty so agreed if it is manifestly excessive or derisory. Where the undertaking has been performed in part, the agreed penalty may be reduced…

Damages and interest due for delay in payment of an obligation to pay a sum of money consist of interest at the legal rate, from the date of the formal notice. These damages and interest are due without the creditor being required to justify any loss. A creditor to whom his debtor in delay has caused, by his bad faith, prejudice independent of that delay, may obtain damages and interest…

In all matters, an award of compensation carries interest at the legal rate even in the absence of a claim or special provision in the judgment. Unless otherwise provided by law, such interest shall accrue from the date of delivery of the judgment unless the judge decides otherwise. In the event of pure and simple confirmation by the appeal judge of a decision awarding compensation for damages, such compensation shall…