Rolando had a written contract that he was to perform a poetry reading

QUESTION

Rolando had a written contract that he was to perform a poetry reading at a local bookstore for $300, but the bookstore made a mistake and double-booked: It had a second poet at the store at the same time.

So Rolando was unable to do his reading. The bookstore said it owed Rolando nothing because he did not do his reading. What can Rolando do?
What will be an ideal response?

ANSWER

Answer: He can sue for damages. That is, he can sue for the $300 he lost because of the bookstore’s breach of contract.
Explanation: When the bookstore failed to let Rolando go ahead with his poetry reading, it was in violation of their contract. That is, it breached the contract. In that case, Rolando was within his rights suing the store for his $300, the amount of money he lost because of the breach and the amount of monetary settlement the courts would award to the party injured by the breach of contract.