Breach of Contract, Available Remedies, and How Courts Approach Damages

Wedding photo loss is one of the most emotionally charged service failures because the “subject” of the service—one day, one set of moments—cannot truly be recreated. In the Philippines, the usual legal route against a photographer/videographer, studio, or wedding media team is a civil case grounded on breach of contract (often called culpa contractual), with damages shaped by the Civil Code and procedural rules on where and how to sue.

This article explains the legal theories, the practical steps before filing, and—most importantly—how to argue damages when the loss is real but hard to quantify.

1) The Typical Fact Pattern and Why It Matters Legally

“Lost photos” can mean several things, and each version affects liability and proof:

Total loss: no raw files, no copies, no delivered outputs.
Partial loss: ceremony missing, reception missing, key segments corrupted.
Late delivery becoming loss: repeated delays, then files “cannot be located.”
Destruction or overwritten storage: memory cards reformatted, drive failure, no backup.
Withholding: vendor has files but refuses to deliver unless additional payment is made, or demands are changed.
Third-party loss: subcontractor, editor, or “second shooter” lost the files.

Courts look at what was promised, what a reasonable professional should do, and whether the vendor acted with negligence, bad faith, or fraud—because those findings heavily influence what damages are recoverable.

2) Legal Foundations in Philippine Civil Law

A. Breach of Contract (Primary Theory)

Most cases are anchored on the Civil Code rules that:

Contracts have the force of law between the parties (Civil Code, Art. 1159).
Parties must comply in good faith and are liable for breach, negligence, delay, or contravention (Civil Code, Art. 1170).
If there is delay (mora) or failure to perform, liability follows unless excused (Arts. 1169–1174, depending on the situation).

Wedding coverage is typically a service contract: the vendor undertakes to perform photography/videography services and to deliver outputs (digital files, edited photos, albums, highlights, etc.) under agreed timelines.

Key idea: You do not need to prove a crime. You need to prove (1) a valid contract; (2) the vendor’s breach; and (3) the harm/damages flowing from it.

B. Rescission or Fulfillment + Damages (Art. 1191)

If the vendor fails to comply with what was promised, the client typically has the option to seek:

Fulfillment (specific performance): compel delivery of files/outputs if they still exist; plus damages, or
Rescission: cancel the contract and seek return of what was paid; plus damages (Civil Code, Art. 1191).

Because wedding moments cannot be redone, courts often encounter claims where “fulfillment” is impossible (files truly lost), pushing the remedy toward rescission/refund plus damages.

C. Quasi-Delict (Alternative/Additional Theory)

Sometimes claimants also plead quasi-delict (Civil Code, Art. 2176) if the circumstances show negligence independent of contract. In practice, where a contract exists, courts usually treat the main action as contractual, but additional pleading may help where the vendor’s acts harmed the client beyond the contractual breach (e.g., reckless handling, deception, public humiliation).

D. Consumer Protection Angle (Often Useful in Practice)

If the vendor is a business offering services to the public, the dispute may also be framed as a consumer complaint (e.g., unfair, deceptive, or deficient service), which can be pursued through administrative/mediation channels in addition to (or before) court action. This route is often attractive for faster settlement, but it depends on the nature of the vendor and the facts.

3) What You Must Prove in a Breach of Contract Case

1) Existence of a Valid Contract

Evidence can be:

Signed contract, booking form, quotation/invoice, receipts
Email threads, chat messages, social media DMs confirming scope/price/delivery
Downpayment proof (bank transfer, e-wallet logs)

Even if there is no formal written contract, agreements proven by messages and payments can still establish obligations.

2) Vendor’s Obligation and the Standard of Care

Obligations typically include:

Attend and cover the wedding event
Capture photos/video consistent with agreed deliverables
Preserve files until delivery and within a reasonable time after
Deliver outputs (soft copies, edited set, album) per timeline

For “lost files,” the dispute often turns on whether the vendor exercised ordinary diligence expected of a professional. Examples of diligence in the industry:

Using reliable storage media
Immediate duplication/backups
Avoiding reformatting until successful backup and delivery
Data integrity checks; safe transport and storage
Redundant storage (e.g., drive + cloud, or dual-card recording)

A vendor can be liable even without malicious intent if they failed to exercise due care.

3) Breach: Non-Delivery, Delay, or Defective Performance

Breach can be shown by:

Failure to deliver by the agreed date (or after repeated extensions)
Admissions (“we lost the files,” “the drive crashed,” “the card was overwritten”)
Inconsistent stories, refusal to explain, refusal to cooperate with recovery
Failure to return property (e.g., memory cards if client-owned)

4) Damages and Causation

You must connect the breach to the losses you claim. Courts do not award damages simply because a contract was broken; they award damages that are legally recognized and adequately supported.

4) Demand Letter: Why It’s Usually Step One

A formal written demand serves multiple purposes:

Establishes that you asserted your rights and asked for performance/refund
Fixes the timeline (useful for delay and interest arguments)
Invites settlement and may expose bad faith (e.g., ignoring or misleading replies)

A good demand letter usually:

Summarizes contract terms, payments, deliverables, and deadlines
States the breach (lost photos / non-delivery / refusal)
Demands specific relief (delivery of all originals and outputs, or refund + damages)
Sets a deadline (e.g., 5–10 days)
Requests preservation/turnover of all storage media and project files
Reserves the right to sue and recover attorney’s fees and costs

5) Barangay Conciliation: When It Applies (and When It Doesn’t)

Many civil disputes between individuals residing in the same city/municipality require barangay conciliation before filing in court under the Katarungang Pambarangay system, unless an exception applies (common exceptions include certain parties, locations, urgency, and other legally recognized exclusions).

If it applies and you skip it, the court may dismiss your case for lack of compliance. If it doesn’t apply, you can proceed directly to court.

6) Where and How to File: Court Options in the Philippines

A. Small Claims (If You’re Seeking Money Only)

If your claim is purely for payment/refund/damages in money, and within the threshold set by the Supreme Court rules on small claims, you may use small claims court. Small claims is designed for simplified procedure (often no lawyers required in the hearing), but it generally focuses on money claims, not complex non-monetary relief.

Small claims is commonly used for:

Refund of package fee
Reimbursement of documented expenses
Modest additional sums supported by evidence

Practical note: If you need specific performance (turnover of files, drives, project archives) or more complex relief, you may need a regular civil action.

B. Regular Civil Case

A regular civil action is appropriate where you seek:

Specific performance (deliver files)
Rescission + damages beyond straightforward refunds
Broader relief (e.g., injunctive-type orders to preserve/turn over media, where available under procedural mechanisms)

Venue typically depends on:

Where parties reside, or
Where the contract was entered into or performed, subject to venue rules and any valid venue stipulation in the contract.

7) Understanding Damages: What Can You Recover?

Philippine law recognizes several categories of damages. In lost wedding photo cases, the battle is usually about which categories apply and how to justify the amount.

A. Actual or Compensatory Damages (Civil Code, Arts. 2199–2200)

These are losses you can prove with receipts or objective evidence, such as:

Package fee paid (if rescission/refund is sought)
Costs of data recovery services (if attempted)
Additional costs incurred due to vendor’s breach (e.g., emergency replacement for some deliverables)

Tip: Keep everything—receipts, bank records, invoices, and written quotations.

B. Temperate (Moderate) Damages (Art. 2224) — Often the Most Important

Temperate damages apply when:

You clearly suffered a pecuniary loss, but the exact amount cannot be proven with certainty.

Lost wedding photos fit this logic well: the harm is real, but there is no perfect market price for “your wedding memories.” Courts sometimes use temperate damages as a fair middle ground where actual damages are hard to compute.

How to support a temperate damages claim:

Show the importance of the lost coverage (once-in-a-lifetime event)
Show what was promised and lost (full ceremony, first dance, family portraits)
Show that professional diligence could have prevented the loss (backup norms)
Show the vendor’s conduct after the loss (cooperation vs evasion)

C. Moral Damages (Art. 2217; Art. 2220 for breach of contract)

Moral damages cover mental anguish, serious anxiety, wounded feelings, social humiliation, etc.

For breach of contract, moral damages are not automatic. The Civil Code allows moral damages in contractual breaches typically when the defendant acted fraudulently or in bad faith (Art. 2220). That means your evidence should focus on bad faith indicators, such as:

Lying about the status of files
Repeatedly promising delivery with no basis
Refusing reasonable recovery efforts
Blaming the client without grounds
Intimidation, harassment, or public shaming
Keeping the money while admitting total non-delivery

How to prove moral damages: testimony (your own, spouse’s, family), contemporaneous messages, and evidence of the vendor’s bad-faith behavior.

D. Nominal Damages (Art. 2221)

Nominal damages are awarded to vindicate a right when no substantial loss is proven. If the court is unwilling to award large sums but recognizes a clear breach, nominal damages can still be awarded.

E. Exemplary (Punitive) Damages (Arts. 2232–2234)

Exemplary damages may be awarded in addition to moral/temperate/compensatory damages when the defendant’s conduct is wanton, fraudulent, reckless, oppressive, or malevolent. You generally need strong evidence of egregious behavior.

F. Attorney’s Fees and Costs (Art. 2208)

Attorney’s fees are not granted as a matter of course. Courts award them only in specific situations (e.g., when the defendant acted in evident bad faith and you were compelled to litigate). If you’re using a lawyer, this is often pleaded—especially if the vendor ignored demands or acted deceitfully.

G. Interest on Monetary Awards

Courts may impose legal interest depending on the nature of the obligation and the timing of demand and judgment. A demand letter can matter here because it helps establish when the obligation became due.

8) Contract Clauses That Commonly Appear—and How They Play in Court

A. “Limitation of Liability” Clauses

Some contracts cap liability (e.g., “refund only,” “no consequential damages,” “not liable for data loss”).

In Philippine contract law, parties generally have freedom to stipulate terms (Art. 1306), but limitations can be scrutinized if:

They are unconscionable or contrary to public policy
They attempt to excuse gross negligence, bad faith, or fraud
They were not properly disclosed or were imposed in a take-it-or-leave-it manner (especially in consumer-type transactions)

A limitation clause may reduce exposure if the vendor proves good faith and ordinary diligence. It is far less protective if the facts show recklessness or bad faith.

B. Force Majeure Clauses

Hardware failure or accidental formatting is usually not force majeure. Force majeure generally requires unforeseeable events beyond control that could not be avoided with due diligence. Ordinary risks of the trade (storage failure) are typically something professionals are expected to anticipate through backups.

C. Delivery Timeline Clauses

If the contract is silent, the law expects performance within a reasonable time. If the contract has timelines, repeated missed deadlines strengthen breach and bad faith arguments—especially if excuses are inconsistent.

D. “Client Must Back Up Delivered Files” Clauses

These clauses help vendors after delivery. They are weaker if the vendor never delivered at all.

9) Evidence Checklist: Build the Case Before You File

Contract and payment

Contract/booking agreement
Official receipts/invoices
Bank/e-wallet transfer proofs

Deliverables and promises

Screenshot of deliverables list and timeline
Messages confirming “we will deliver by ___”
Any proof of partial outputs delivered

Breach and admissions

Messages where vendor admits loss/corruption
Email/chat threads showing delays and excuses
Written refusal to refund or cooperate

Standard of care

Proof the vendor advertised “professional,” “with backups,” “reliable storage”
Any statement about workflow (dual card, cloud backup) used as representation
If needed, testimony/affidavit from another professional about industry norms

Damages

Receipts for recovery services
Receipts for any replacement coverage (if applicable)
Testimony and contemporaneous notes about distress and impact
Wedding program, shot list, or planner coordination showing what was supposed to be captured

10) Defenses Vendors Commonly Raise—and How Plaintiffs Respond

“No written contract.” → Show agreement through messages, acceptance of payment, and performance of some parts.
“It was an accident.” → Accident doesn’t erase liability if it resulted from lack of due care (no backups, reformatting too early).
“Force majeure.” → Ordinary data loss risks are foreseeable and preventable with professional diligence.
“We’ll refund only; that’s in the contract.” → Argue bad faith/gross negligence; argue unconscionability if the clause effectively nullifies accountability.
“Client caused delay / didn’t send selections.” → Separate editing delay from file preservation. Even if editing was delayed, the vendor must preserve the originals.
“Subcontractor lost it.” → The contracting party remains responsible to the client; subcontracting doesn’t erase contractual liability.

11) Practical Outcomes: What Settlements and Judgments Often Look Like

Many disputes settle after demand letters or mediation with combinations of:

Full or partial refund
Delivery of all surviving files (RAW/JPEG)
Payment of recovery costs
Additional compensation (sometimes framed as “goodwill” but functionally damages)

Where cases reach judgment, awards commonly revolve around:

Refund/actual damages where proven
Temperate damages where loss is real but hard to quantify
Moral and exemplary damages when bad faith is convincingly shown
Attorney’s fees when litigation was clearly forced by unjust refusal or deception

12) Special Situations

A. If Photos Were Also Leaked or Misused

If the issue is not only “lost,” but also unauthorized disclosure or posting, separate legal issues may arise (privacy, possible administrative complaints, and civil damages). Document the leak immediately (screenshots, URLs, witnesses).

B. If Vendor Is Unregistered or Uses a Fake Identity

This can complicate collection but does not eliminate liability. It makes early evidence preservation and correct identification (real name, address, business name, payment accounts) crucial.

C. If Vendor Still Has the Files but Won’t Release Them

Your remedy may lean toward:

Demand for specific performance (turnover/delivery)
Potential claims for damages due to delay
Requests for court processes compelling production/turnover, depending on the case posture

13) Prevention Lessons That Courts Indirectly Reinforce

If you are contracting a vendor (or advising someone who is), these contract provisions reduce risk and clarify remedies:

Clear deliverables list (RAW/JPEG? number of edits? album? video length?)
Delivery deadlines and penalties
Backup obligations stated explicitly (e.g., dual backup within 24 hours)
Turnover of all originals upon request
Liquidated damages clause for non-delivery
Dispute resolution steps (mediation, venue) that are fair and workable

14) A Practical Roadmap for an Aggrieved Couple

Gather evidence (contract, receipts, chats, admissions).
Send a formal demand letter (delivery or refund + compensation; require preservation/turnover of media).
Attempt settlement/mediation (including barangay conciliation if applicable).
Choose the forum: small claims (money-only within threshold) or regular civil action (specific performance and/or larger damages).
Plead damages strategically: actual + temperate; add moral/exemplary only with bad-faith proof.
Prepare for defenses: force majeure, limitation clauses, client fault, subcontractor blame.

Closing Note

This is a general legal article for Philippine context and is not a substitute for advice on your specific facts. Because damage awards and procedural requirements can turn on small details (contract wording, residency, timeline, admissions), a consultation with a Philippine lawyer can help you choose the best forum and frame the strongest damages theory.