A remedy that courts sometimes use in disputes involving a breach of contract is simply to compel the participants in the contract to do precisely what they have agreed to do. Specific performance, as this approach is called, can be used as an alternative to monetary damages—that is, to requiring the one than monetary damages, there are many instances in which it is clearly not a suitable remedy.
Whether or not specific performance is an appropriate remedy in a case depends on the particular characteristics of that case. It is often the only reasonable remedy when monetary damages could not adequately compensate the one who has been harmed by the breach of contract. For example, a contract may provide for best remedy would be to order that the contract be fulfilled exactly according to its terms.
Nevertheless, in many cases monetary payment can adequately compensate for the refusal to fulfill the terms of a contract, and thus the court commonly need not consider ordering specific performance. In fact, in some types of cases, court-enforced performance of the contract would actually be detrimental to those involved in the dispute entanglement in troublesome aspects of the disputed relationship while still providing relief to the wronged party.
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