Final answer:
Patricia is entitled to her salary for the remaining nine months after being fired in breach of her year-long employment contract, but must subtract earnings from any new job she could have obtained with reasonable effort.
Step-by-step explanation:
In this case, Patricia would likely be entitled to recover her salary for nine months, less what she could have earned in another job if she had made reasonable efforts to find one. This is because the employer can argue that Patricia had a duty to mitigate her damages by seeking alternative employment. Therefore, option 3) her salary for nine months, less what she could have earned in another job, is the most likely correct answer.
If Patricia's employer fired her after only three months in violation of a twelve-month employment contract, she is generally entitled to recover as damages her salary for the remaining nine months. However, in employment law, damages awarded for breach of an employment contract usually consider the duty to mitigate.
This means that Patricia is expected to make reasonable efforts to find another suitable job, and any earnings from new employment would typically be deducted from the damages. Therefore, the correct answer to Patricia's situation would be her salary for nine months, less what she could have earned had she made reasonable efforts to find new employment. This mitigation of damages is a legal principle that requires the injured party to take reasonable steps to minimize their loss.