While liquidated damages clauses are generally enforceable, courts do not enforce penalty clauses.
A penalty clause is a provision in a contract that imposes a monetary or other punishment on a party for failing to fulfill specific terms of the agreement. These clauses are typically designed to deter breach of contract and to encourage parties to perform their obligations as agreed.
Specific Penalty Amounts: Specify the exact monetary penalty that will be imposed for each failure to meet an obligation or deadline. Conditions for Imposition: Detail the conditions under which the penalty will be imposed, including how the breach or delay will be determined.
A penalty clause is a provision in a contract that imposes a monetary or other punishment on a party for failing to fulfill specific terms of the agreement. These clauses are typically designed to deter breach of contract and to encourage parties to perform their obligations as agreed.
Contract clauses which have the effect of placing the non-breaching party in a better position than if the contract were fully performed are presumptively unenforceable because they amount to penalties; the goal of enforcing contracts is not to penalize, but to prevent loss to the non-breaching party.
These clauses allow parties, at the time of contracting, to agree to their respective damages liability if they later breach. While liquidated damages clauses are generally enforceable, courts do not enforce penalty clauses.
Generally, any clause included within a commercial contract which is included for the sole purpose of punishing a breaching party is deemed a 'penalty,' and is consequently unenforceable in law to the extent that it extends beyond the actual loss sustained as a result of the breach.