When assessing damages for breach of contract, tort or fiduciary duty, courts must take into account actual post-breach events including the manner in which a liability was discharged, rather than awarding the nominal amount of the liability where the plaintiff paid less. The civil standard of proof does not apply to past hypothetical situations in damages assessment; instead the court assesses the degree of probability. However, where precise evidence of loss is obtainable but the plaintiff fails to adduce it, the court should decline to estimate damages rather than engage in impermissible guesswork.
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