Evergreen Amusement Corp. v. Milstead; (Ct of Appeals of MD, 1955); CB 85; Notes 11
- Facts: Evergreen contracts with Milstead construction firm to complete drive-in theatre. Milstead finishes two months late – well into summer season. Evergreen didn’t pay Milstead; Milstead sued and Evergreen counterclaimed for lost profits.
- Issue: Whether a new business can recover for lost profits before it started business.
- Holding: P entitled to some damages, where D should have known that drive-in needs to operate during busy summer season to be viable. However, court says you cannot grant profits since calculation too speculative.
- Rule: Award of lost profits only appropriate where they are reasonably calculated with a high degree of certainty.
- Rationale: Court says with new business it is speculative to say what profit they would have made; regardless of the evidence Evergreen brought in of the next season when they were open.
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