Montana Code Annotated
Part 3. Measure of Damages
27-1-316. Breach of covenants in grants of estates in real property

27-1-316. Breach of covenants in grants of estates in real property. (1) The detriment caused by the breach of a covenant of seisin, of right to convey, of warranty, or of quiet enjoyment in a grant of an estate in real property is considered to be:
(a) the price paid to the grantor or, if the breach is partial only, the proportion of the price that the value of the property affected by the breach bore at the time of the grant to the value of the whole property;
(b) interest on the portion of the price for the time during which the grantee derived no benefit from the property, not exceeding 5 years; and
(c) any expenses properly incurred by the covenantee in defending possession.
(2) The detriment caused by the breach of a covenant against encumbrances in a grant of an estate in real property is considered to be the amount that has been actually expended by the covenantee in extinguishing either the principal or interest of the amount, not exceeding in the former case a proportion of the price paid to the grantor equivalent to the relative value at the time of the grant of the property affected by the breach as compared with the whole or, in the latter case, interest on a like amount.
History: (1)En. Sec. 4304, Civ. C. 1895; re-en. Sec. 6052, Rev. C. 1907; re-en. Sec. 8670, R.C.M. 1921; Cal. Civ. C. Sec. 3304; Based on Field Civ. C. Sec. 1844; re-en. Sec. 8670, R.C.M. 1935; Sec. 17-304, R.C.M. 1947; (2)En. Sec. 4305, Civ. C. 1895; re-en. Sec. 6053, Rev. C. 1907; re-en. Sec. 8671, R.C.M. 1921; Cal. Civ. C. Sec. 3305; Field Civ. C. Sec. 1845; re-en. Sec. 8671, R.C.M. 1935; Sec. 17-305, R.C.M. 1947; R.C.M. 1947, 17-304, 17-305; amd. Sec. 567, Ch. 56, L. 2009.