Plante v. Jacobs
Supreme Court of
10 Wis.2d 567, 103 N.W.2d
296.
Facts: The plaintiff contracted with the defendants to build
them a house. When it was done,
Issue: Has there been substantial performance of the contract
to build the house, and if so, what should be the measure of damages?
Rule: The contract was substantially performed if the performance
meets the essential purpose of the contract.
If the performance is substantial but incomplete and faulty, the correct
measure of damages is the difference between the value of the house as it
stands and the value it would have had if it had been built correctly. If there are a small number of small defects
that can be fixed at some reasonable expense, that cost is allowed as part of
the remedy.
Analysis: The court approves of the way that the trial court
combined the two rules given above. The
court rejects the contention that the item of the misplaced living room wall
should be treated under the cost-of-repair rule as opposed to the diminished-value
rule (which was actually used at trial).
The court notes that the value of the house wasn’t really diminished by the
misplaced wall, so it would be economically wasteful to give the defendants
money to knock down the wall and rebuilt it in the right place.
Conclusion: The judgment of the trial court is affirmed in full.