Certified Professional Contract Manager (CPCM) Practice Exam 2025 - Free CPCM Practice Questions and Study Guide

Expectation damages are designed to cover the loss incurred by a party when a contract is not fulfilled, thereby aiming to put the injured party in the position they would have been in had the contract been performed as agreed. This type of damages is fundamentally about recouping financial losses. When a contract is claimed to be unjust, expectation damages help to ensure that the party who did not breach the contract receives compensation equivalent to what they expected to receive from the agreement, thus restoring their financial standing to what it would have been if the contract had been fully executed.

In contrast, options involving penalties or emotional distress do not align with the primary goal of expectation damages, which is focused on economic loss rather than punitive measures or non-economic harm. Additionally, while assessing additional damages might seem relevant, expectation damages are specific to the contractual agreement’s anticipated benefits, rather than additional financial compensation beyond what was initially expected.