California Court of Appeal

In a breach of a real property sales agreement, trial court's award of $600,000 in lost profits, among other damages, in favor of the plaintiff is where: 1) the evidence was insufficient to show lost profits with reasonable certainty as, the assumption that plaintiff would have constructed the residence according to the plans and specifications without changes and that the venture would have been profitable, were inherently uncertain, contingent, unforeseeable and speculative; 2) jury's award of $60,000 as damages for sums plaintiffs had deposited into escrow was not erroneous; 3) defendant's failure to move for a new trial on the issue of the sufficiency of damages waives his challenge to the excessiveness of the $90,000 award for prerenovation costs; and 4) the award of attorney fees is reversed and the case is remanded to the trial court to allow it to redetermine the amount of attorney fees to plaintiff as the prevailing party.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/02/2010
• Published 12/02/2010

Judges

• Kline

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Les A. Hausrath, John Derrick