Mitigate
To take reasonable steps to reduce or minimize your losses after you have been harmed. The law requires injured parties to mitigate their damages.
Mitigation is the legal duty to take reasonable steps to reduce your losses after someone has harmed you. Even if another person is entirely at fault, you cannot sit back and let your damages pile up if there are reasonable steps you could take to limit the harm.
The duty to mitigate does not mean you have to do everything possible – only what is reasonable under the circumstances. You are not required to take extreme measures, spend large amounts of money, or accept unreasonable alternatives.
Why it matters: If you fail to mitigate your damages, a court may reduce the amount you can recover. The other side will argue that some of your losses could have been avoided if you had acted reasonably.
Example: A supplier fails to deliver materials needed for a construction project. The contractor has a duty to mitigate by trying to find the materials from another supplier, even if it costs a bit more. The contractor can sue for the price difference but cannot claim damages for a month of lost work if the materials were readily available elsewhere.
Contract disputes, personal injury cases, employment termination, landlord-tenant disputes