E. T. LEGG & ASSOCIATES, LTD., APPELLANT,
v.
SHAMROCK AUTO RENTALS, INC., AND ACKERLEY COMMUNICATIONS, INC., APPELLEES
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The court held that while the evidence was insufficient to prove lost profits, there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's finding of liability.
A jury found defendants liable for breach of contract and interference with contractual relationship, awarding damages. The trial court set aside the …
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BASKIN, Judge.
We reverse the final judgment of the trial court which set aside jury verdicts for appellant and remand for a new trial solely on the question of damages. The jury found appellees Shamrock Auto Rentals, Inc. and Ackerley Communications, Inc. liable to appellant E. T. Legg & Associates for Shamrock’s breach of contract for lease of outdoor advertising space and for Acker-ley’s interference with this contractual relationship. It awarded compensatory damages from Shamrock of $149,000 and from Ackerley of $35,000. The trial court reconsidered reserved motions for directed verdicts and entered final judgment for Shamrock and Ackerley upon a finding that Legg had failed to prove a right to future profits with reasonable certainty and had failed to present evidence on any alternative theory of damages.
As to the damages, the only evidence presented pertained to income or gross receipts, not profits, and testimony concerning expenses did not establish specific dollar amounts. The evidence was therefore inadequate to prove lost profits. American Motorcycle Institute, Inc. v. Mitchell, 380 So. 2d 452 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980); Ballard v. Krause, 248 So. 2d 233 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971). In this respect, the trial court correctly questioned the jury verdicts concerning the award of damages.
On the other hand, the evidence presented on the issue of defendants’ liability was conflicting. Construing that evidence in the manner most favorable to Legg, we must conclude that there was evidence to support the jury’s finding that defendants were liable. Riccio v. Allstate Insurance Co., 357 So. 2d 420 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978). The verdicts, therefore, insofar as they established liability, should not have been disturbed by the court.
For these reasons, we reverse the final judgment entered by the trial court, reinstate the jury verdicts as to liability, and remand for a new trial as to damages.
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Cited By (12 total)
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Born v. Goldstein, 450 So. 2d 262 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984)…rcycle Institute v. Mitchell, 380 So. 2d 452 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980). Where the evidence only pertains to gross receipts or fails to establish expenses with specificity, an award of damages will be reversed. E. T. Legg & Assoc. v. Shamrock Auto Rentals, 386 So. 2d 1273 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980); American Motorcycle Institute v. Mitchell. Without engaging in a lengthy review of all the evidence adduced below, we conclude that it established a reasonable basis for the jury’s verdict. Born testified he had been locked out…
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Forest's Mens Shop and Ladies Den of Stuart v. Schmidt, 536 So. 2d 334 (Fla. 4th DCA 1988)…gnoring expenses entirely. Such evidence is not competent to establish lost profits. See, e.g., Born v. Goldstein, 450 So. 2d 262 (Fla. 5th DCA), rev. dismissed, 458 So. 2d 272 (Fla.1984); E.T. Legg & Associates, Ltd. v. Shamrock Auto Rentals, Inc., 386 So. 2d 1273 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980), rev. denied, 392 So. 2d 1379 (Fla.1981); American Motorcycle Institute, Inc. v. Mitchell, 380 So. 2d 452 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980). Dimbath’s analysis also ignored Forest’s history of losses and its actual past expenses. As such, it am…
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S. Bell Tel. & Tel. Co. v. Lewis H. Kaminester, M. D., P. A., 400 So. 2d 804 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)…profits rendering its proof of lost profits inadequate. In proving damages caused by lost net profits, see Augustine v. Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph Co., 91 So. 2d 320 (Fla.1956); E. T. Legg & Associates, Ltd. v. Shamrock Auto Rentals, Inc., 386 So. 2d 1273 (Fla.3d DCA 1980), pet. for rev. denied, 392 So. 2d 1379 (Fla.1981); Petrulli v. Approved Dry Wall Construction, Inc., 284 So. 2d 27 (Fla.3d DCA 1973), cert. denied, 292 So. 2d 18 (Fla.1974), a corporation, in arriving at the net loss, must deduct t…
Previewing 3 of 12 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Ballard v. Krause, 248 So. 2d 233 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971)
- Am. Motorcycle Inst., Inc. v. Mitchell, 380 So. 2d 452 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980)
- Riccio v. Allstate Ins. Co., 357 So. 2d 420 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)