Anglia Television v Reed [1971] 3 All ER 690

The claimant, Anglia Television, engaged Oliver Reed to play the leading role in a television play. Subsequently Reed pulled out and Anglia was unable to find a replacement. They abandoned the play but had incurred expenses amounting to £2,750.

Held:

Whilst damages generally seek to put the parties in the position they would have been in had the contract been performed, the parties may elect to claim reliance loss and recover expenses incurred in an abortive transaction. Thus Anglia was able to recover their expenses from the defendant.

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