Hydraform Products Corp. v. American Steel & Aluminum Corp.
New Hampshire Supreme Court
498 A.2d 339 (1985)
Hydraform Products Corp. (Hydraform) (plaintiff), a woodstove manufacturer, contracted with American Steel & Aluminum Corp. (American) (defendant) to buy steel for 400 stoves, after an earlier 40-stove trial order; American's liability-limiting delivery receipt was signed for each shipment, but American began delivering steel late and defectively, causing Hydraform to sell only 250 of its planned 400 stoves. Hydraform later sold its entire woodstove division for $150,000 plus royalties, a price its president believed was well below actual value, and sued American for consequential lost-profits damages covering the shortfall (150 stoves), two years of future lost profits, and the loss on the business sale; the jury awarded $80,245.12, and American appealed.
Whether a buyer may recover consequential damages for a seller's breach that include not only lost profits on the specific shortfall in contracted goods, but also speculative future lost profits and losses from an unrelated later sale of the buyer's business.