Opinion ID: 2443516
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Recovery for Time and Effort in Contract

Text: [¶ 15] Not every consequence of a breach of contract is a cognizable injury. See Rubin v. Matthews Int'l Corp., 503 A.2d 694, 696 (Me.1986); see also Cherny v. Emigrant Bank, 604 F.Supp.2d 605, 609 (S.D.N.Y.2009) (concluding that the receipt of unwanted spam after the plaintiff's personal e-mail address was disclosed did not constitute compensable harm). Generally, contract damages are more restricted than compensatory damages for a tort. Stull v. First Am. Title Ins. Co., 2000 ME 21, ¶ 17, 745 A.2d 975, 981. For example, emotional distress suffered as a result of breach of contract is ordinarily not recoverable unless it is accompanied by physical injury or it results in serious emotional disturbance due to the nature of the contract. Marquis v. Farm Family Mut. Ins. Co., 628 A.2d 644, 651 (Me.1993); Rubin, 503 A.2d at 696-98; cf. Gayer v. Bath Iron Works Corp., 687 A.2d 617, 621 n. 3 (Me.1996) (listing specific types of contracts for which emotional distress damages may be available). [¶ 16] As the federal district court pointed out, the time and effort expended by the plaintiffs here represent the ordinary frustrations and inconveniences that everyone confronts in daily life. In re Hannaford Bros. Co. Customer Data Sec. Breach Litig., 613 F.Supp.2d at 134. Accordingly, we conclude that the expenditure of time and effort alone does not represent a cognizable injury recoverable in implied contract. The entry is: We answer certified question (1): No, Maine law of negligence and implied contract does not recognize time and effort alone, spent in a reasonable effort to avoid or remediate reasonably foreseeable harm, as a cognizable injury in the absence of physical harm or economic loss or identity theft. We do not address certified question (2).