Neri v. Retail Marine Corp.
Court of Appeals of the State of New York
285 N.E.2d 311 (1972)
Neri (plaintiff) paid a $4,250 deposit to buy a boat from Retail Marine (defendant) but rescinded the contract for health reasons about a week later, after Retail had already ordered the boat, which arrived around the same time as Neri's cancellation. Retail refused to refund the deposit and later resold the same boat four months afterward at the same contract price; Neri sued for his deposit, and Retail counterclaimed for lost profits, incidental damages, and fees. The trial court denied Retail's lost-profit claim but awarded it $500, ordering $3,750 returned to Neri, and Retail appealed.
Whether the damages available to a lost-volume seller after a buyer's repudiation are properly measured by the profit the seller would have made from full performance, plus reasonable incidental resale damages.