1. The Client's Situation
Company A concluded a supply contract with a particular supplier and was to be supplied with goods, but a disruption in the performance of the contract arose due to the supplier's delay in delivery. There was no separate liquidated-damages clause in the contract, and accordingly Company A requested advice from Your Legal Team to review the possibility of claiming damages against the supplier.
2. Your Legal Team's Advice
Your Legal Team closely reviewed the relevant contract and legal provisions and analyzed the legal basis on which Company A could claim damages for the delay in delivery. We confirmed that even without a liquidated-damages clause in the contract, ordinary damages could be claimed by applying the statutory interest rate under the Commercial Act (6% per annum), and explained that additional damages could also be claimed if losses such as lost sales due to the delay in delivery and the cost of substitute purchases were proven. In addition, considering that the goods were reorder items, we presented the strategy that claiming ordinary damages would be legally more advantageous than asserting special damages.
3. Outcome
As a result, Company A was able to clearly organize its legal basis and negotiate with the supplier, and secured an advantageous position from which it could claim substantive damages. On this basis, Company A was able to reach a damages settlement at a reasonable level, and succeeded in preventing legal risk by arranging to include a liquidated-damages clause in similar contracts in the future.