Injured Feelings Resulting from Breach of Contract

IN the last few years the Court of Appeal has greatly enlarged the area in which damages for breach of contract are available in English law to protect non-pecuniary interests. Lord Denning's judgment in Heywood v. Wellers suggests that further movement may yet be attempted. The question has been discussed largely in terms of remoteness of damage, but comparative analysis suggests that this approach obscures some important issues. In Cook v. Swinfen,* the Court of Appeal denied the appellant damages for nervous illness caused by the respondent solicitors' negligent handling of a divorce action brought against her; the Court of Appeal held that, on the facts, the damage was too remote. In emphasising that such contract damages could in principle be recovered if the remoteness rules were satisfied, Lord Denning contrasted a claim in respect of injured feelings: