美國契約法中違約損害賠償責任之探討：以信賴利益為中心

Loss of Use Damages from the Perspectives of U.S. Tort Law

物因他人之侵權行為而致毀損時，受害人於所有之物進行修繕的期間，對該物之利用可能性必遭剝奪，因而導致使用利益的損害，受害人應有權請求加害人賠償。然因計算賠償數額的觀點不同，或對使用利益之價值判斷見解不一，致使此看似簡單的損害賠償問題，朝向複雜且多元的方向發展。美國聯邦與各州法院對此爭議問題已累積相當數量的判決，足以供應學術上分析研究所需的養分，也是判斷未來裁判趨勢的重要參考。故本文以美國侵權行為法為基礎，利用美國法院實務見解及學者看法，探討使用利益之相關爭議。討論的核心置於實際租賃替代物的必要性、娛樂用之物是否亦有使用利益的損失，以及全部毀損或部分毀損在賠償上是否存在不同的意義等議題的剖析。此外，本文亦分析我國實務上的見解，藉以比較與美國法之異同。

Loss of use may refer to the inability to use an automobile, living quarters, business facility or equipment due to damage caused by the negligence or other wrongdoing of another. If one is entitled to a judgment for the detention or preventing the use of his land or chattels, he may recover the damages include compensation for the value of the use during the period of detention or prevention or the value of the use of or the amount paid for a substitute. The U.S. courts, including the federal and state, have accumulated a large quantity of decisions to deal with this issue. However, different view points in regard to the same arguments presenting in different state court holdings. This article focuses on some important problems, such as “is pecuniary loss required as a prerequisite to recovery?” “Is the owner of a pleasure chattel entitled to sue for loss of use damages?” and “Whether loss of use damages are recoverable where property is totally destroyed?” The analysis is based on court decisions and articles discussing these issues, and the author expects to predict the future trend relying on the foundation of this research.