C.I.C. Corporation v. Ragtime, Inc.
New Jersey Court of Appeals
726 A.2d 316 (1999)
C.I.C. Corporation (CIC) (plaintiff) leased four vending machines to Ragtime, Inc. and its owner (defendants) under a five-year revenue-sharing lease. After a payment dispute, CIC removed the machines and sued for $41,000, the lost revenue for the 59 months remaining on the lease when Ragtime breached. Ragtime argued CIC failed to mitigate damages by re-leasing the machines elsewhere; the trial judge instructed the jury it could consider CIC's mitigation efforts, and the jury awarded only $1 in damages. CIC's motion for a new trial on damages was denied, and CIC appealed.
Whether a lost-volume lessor who would have received the benefit of two contracts had the lessee not breached is entitled to damages totaling the net profits for the period remaining on the lease after the breach.