Fera v. Village Plaza, Inc.

Fera (plaintiff) signed a ten-year lease with Fairborn-Village Plaza (defendant) for space in a shopping center under construction, with rent tied partly to sales. Delays meant the space wasn't ready on schedule, and by the time it was, Fairborn had lost track of the lease and rented the space to someone else, leaving Fera without a comparable substitute location. Fera sued for lost anticipated profits, and after extensive fact and expert testimony (including on liquor-license prospects), the jury awarded $200,000. The Court of Appeals reversed, reasoning new businesses categorically cannot recover lost anticipated profits and that the proof here was too speculative anyway.