When Item Software was seeking to renegotiate an important contract with a client, its duplicitous sales director, Fassihi, sought to take the contract for himself. In conduct deserving of a “Janus award”, Fassihi disparaged the negotiating parties to each other, and encouraged the company to raise its price even as he made his own advances to the client. Ultimately, neither the company nor Fassihi got the contract. Item Software (UK) Ltd. v. Fassihi [2004] EWCA Civ 1244 concerns the company's claim, having dismissed Fassihi, for compensation for lost profits in relation to the contract.

Compensation, whether in the form of damages or equitable compensation, is only available where the loss is causally linked to the breach of duty: Target Holdings Ltd. v. Redferns [1996] A.C. 421, 432, 434.