VF-300 . Breach of Contract
W e answer the questions submitted to us as follows:
1. Did [ name of plaintiff ] and [ name of defendant ] enter into a
1. If your answer to question 1 is yes, then answer question 2. If you
answered no, stop here, answer no further questions, and have
the presiding juror sign and date this form.
[2. Did [ name of plaintiff ] do all, or substantially all, of the significant
things that the contract required [him/her/ nonbinary pronoun /it] to
[2. If your answer to question 2 is yes, [skip question 3 and] answer
question 4. If you answered no, [answer question 3 if excuse is at
issue /stop here, answer no further questions, and have the
presiding juror sign and date this form].]
[3. Was [ name of plaintiff ] excused from having to do all, or
substantially all, of the significant things that the contract
required [him/her/ nonbinary pronoun /it] to do?
[3. If your answer to question 3 is yes, then answer question 4. If you
answered no, stop here, answer no further questions, and have
the presiding juror sign and date this form.]
[4. Did all the conditions that were required for [ name of defendant ]’s
performance occur?
[4. If your answer to question 4 is yes, [skip question 5 and] answer
question 6. If you answered no, [answer question 5 if waiver or
excuse is at issue /stop here, answer no further questions, and have
the presiding juror sign and date this form].]
[5. Were the required conditions that did not occur
[excused/waived]?
[5. If your answer to question 5 is yes, then answer question 6. If you
answered no, stop here, answer no further questions, and have
the presiding juror sign and date this form.]
6. [Did [ name of defendant ] fail to do something that the contract
required [him/her/ nonbinary pronoun /it] to do?
6. [ Did [ name of defendant ] do something that the contract
prohibited [him/her/ nonbinary pronoun /it] from doing?
6. If your answer to [either option for] question 6 is yes, then
answer question 7. If you answered no [to both options], stop
here, answer no further questions, and have the presiding juror
sign and date this form.
7. Was [ name of plaintiff ] harmed by [ name of defendant ]’s breach of
7. If your answer to question 7 is yes, then answer question 8. If you
answered no, stop here, answer no further questions, and have
the presiding juror sign and date this form.
8. What are [ name of plaintiff ]’s damages?
[a. Past [economic] loss [including [ insert
descriptions of claimed damages ]]: $ ]
[b. Future [economic] loss [including [ insert
descriptions of claimed damages ]]: $ ]
Signed: Presiding Juror
After [this verdict form has/all verdict forms have] been signed, notify
the [clerk/bailif f/court attendant] that you ar e ready to pr esent your
verdict in the courtroom.
New April 2004; Revised December 2010, June 201 1, June 2013, June 2015, May
Directions for Use
This verdict form is based on CACI No. 303, Br each of Contract - Essential Factual
VF-300 CONTRACTS
Elements . This form is intended for use in most contract disputes. If more specificity
is desired, see verdict forms that follow .
The special verdict forms in this section are intended only as models. They may
need to be modified depending on the facts of the case.
Optional questions 2 and 3 address acts that the plaintif f must have performed
before the defendant’ s duty to perform is triggered. Include question 2 if the court
has determined that the contract included dependent covenants, such that the failure
of the plaintif f to perform some obligation would relieve the defendant of the
obligation to perform. (See Br own v . Grimes (201 1) 192 Cal.App.4th 265, 277-279
[120 Cal.Rptr .3d 893].) Include question 3 if the plaintiff claims that the plainti ff
was excused from having to perform an otherwise required obligation.
Optional questions 4 and 5 address conditions precedent to the defendant’ s
performance. Include question 4 if the occurrence of conditions for performance is
at issue. (See CACI No. 322, Occurr ence of Agreed Condition Precedent .) Include
question 5 if the plaintif f alleges that conditions that did not occur were excused.
The most common form of excuse is the defendant’ s waiver . (See CACI No. 323,
W aiver of Condition Pr ecedent ; see also Restatement Second of Contracts, section
225, Comment b.) W aiver must be proved by clear and convincing evidence. ( DRG/
Beverly Hills, Ltd. v . Chopstix Dim Sum Cafe & T akeout III, Ltd. (1994) 30
Cal.App.4th 54, 60 [35 Cal.Rptr .2d 515].)
Note that questions 4 and 5 address conditions precedent, not the defendant’ s
nonperformance after the conditions have all occurred or been excused. The
defendant’ s nonperformance is the first option for question 6. If the defendant
alleges that its nonperformance was excused or waived by the plaintif f, an additional
question on excuse or waiver should be included after question 6.
If the verdict form used combines other causes of action involving both economic
and noneconomic damages, use “economic” in question 8.
If specificity is not required, users do not have to itemize the damages listed in
question 8. The breakdown is optional depending on the circumstances.
If there are multiple causes of action, users may wish to combine the individual
forms into one form. If dif ferent damages are recoverable on dif ferent causes of
action, replace the damages tables in all of the verdict forms with CACI No. VF-
3920, Damages on Multiple Legal Theories .
CONTRACTS VF-300
Page last reviewed May 2024
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