The respondent homeowner, who suffered from undiagnosed bipolar and obsessive-compulsive disorders, contracted with the appellant to replace her heating system.
The appellant breached the contract, causing property damage and leaving the work incomplete.
The trial judge awarded damages for loss of rental income without reduction for failure to mitigate, applying the thin-skull plaintiff rule, and awarded $35,000 in general damages for mental distress.
On appeal, the Court of Appeal set aside the mental distress damages, finding no evidence the appellant knew or should have known of the respondent's mental condition such that exacerbation was foreseeable.
The Court also held that thin-skull tort principles do not apply to contract cases, and reduced the loss of rental income damages to reflect an objectively reasonable time to mitigate.
