United States for the Use of Palmer Construction, Inc. v. Cal States Electric, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
940 F.2d 1260 (1991)
Palmer breached its subcontract with CSE after partially completing work for a contract price of $235,137, and CSE had already paid Palmer $114,758.98 plus another $126,673.56 to a replacement contractor to finish the remaining work, for a total exceeding the original contract price; the district court nonetheless awarded Palmer the value of its completed work minus what it had already been paid and minus CSE's proven damages, resulting in a net payment to Palmer.
Whether, if a breaching party has partially performed on a contract, but the innocent party has paid more than the original contract price to complete the contract, the breaching party may recover from the innocent party.