Eastlake Construction Co. v. Hess
Court of Appeals of Washington
686 P.2d 465 (1984)
Eastlake Construction (plaintiff) sued the Hesses (defendants) for the balance owed on a condominium construction contract, and the Hesses counterclaimed for breach, including improperly installed kitchen cabinets and nine other defects. The trial court awarded the Hesses net damages but declined to award cabinet-replacement costs as unreasonable economic waste, instead awarding only the value difference between specified and installed cabinets, and denied damages on the nine other breaches for lacking substantial loss of value; both parties appealed.
Whether a party to a construction contract who has received unfinished or defective work, but cannot prove his loss in value, may recover damages based on the reasonable cost of completing performance or remedying the defects if the cost is not clearly disproportionate to his probable loss of value.