Del. P.J.I. Civ. § 19.18

SUBSTANTIAL PERFORMANCE

A good-faith attempt to perform a contract, even if the attempted performance

does not precisely meet the contractual requirement, is considered complete if the

substantial purpose of the contract is accomplished. This means that the contract

has been completed in every significant respect.

[For example, if a builder completes an office tower but fails to apply a second

coat of paint to the basement walls, the builder will have substantially performed the

contract. This situation is known in the law as substantial performance. In our

example, the builder would be entitled to payment on the terms of the contract but

would also be liable to the office tower’s owner for the cost of painting the basement

walls.]

If you find that [performer’s name] substantially performed the duties of the

contract with [other party’s name] to [describe duties briefly], then [performer’s

name] is entitled to [receive / recover] [describe amount owed, action due, etc.]

from [other party’s name] and you may award damages accordingly. If you also

find that [other party’s name] suffered minimal damages due to the slight deviation

by [performer’s name] in substantially performing the contract, you may award

[other party’s name] damages in the amount necessary to finish the contract.