Meinrath v. Singer Co.
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
87 F.R.D. 422 (1980)
Leopold Meinrath (plaintiff) sold his interest in several Unicard companies to The Singer Company (defendant) under an agreement entitling him to bonus compensation, and told Singer at the time that the Unicard companies urgently needed that money to stay afloat. When Singer allegedly failed to pay $300,000 of the bonus compensation owed, Meinrath sued for breach of contract and also sought $770,000 in consequential damages for the losses the Unicard companies suffered from not receiving the funds; Singer moved for summary judgment on the consequential-damages claim alone.
Whether damages for a breach of contract claim based on the failure to pay money are limited to the amount owed plus interest at the prevailing rate.