Locks v. Wade
Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division
114 A.2d 875 (1955)
Locks (plaintiff) agreed to lease a jukebox to Wade (defendant) for two years at $20 weekly, totaling $836, with Locks also agreeing to supply records and replacement parts; Wade repudiated the lease before the jukebox was ever installed, and Locks subsequently leased the same jukebox to a different party for the same $836 total. Locks sued Wade for his lost profits; Wade argued that because Locks found a replacement lessee at the identical price, Locks suffered no actual damages and should recover nothing. The trial court rejected that argument and awarded Locks the full $836, and Wade appealed.
Whether, when an agreement for the lease of goods is breached, the lessor may recover the lost profits he would have earned on the contract minus the cost he would have incurred performing it.