Kenford Co. v. County of Erie case brief

Kenford Co. v. County of Erie case brief summary
537 N.E.2d 176 (1989)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Appellant county challenged a judgment of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in the Fourth Judicial Department (New York), which affirmed a judgment in favor of plaintiff corporate landowner, wherein it was awarded damages for loss of anticipated profits from appreciation of the value of its land.

CASE FACTS
The landowner had entered into an agreement with the county wherein the landowner agreed to donate land for a proposed stadium site. Thereafter, the landowner bought property in the periphery of the site. When it was discovered that the county underestimated the cost of building the stadium, the contract was terminated. A jury awarded the landowner damages, but the court held that the landowner was not so entitled.

DISCUSSION

• The court found that there was no provision in the contract or evidence otherwise to demonstrate that the parties contemplated that the county was undertaking a responsibility for the lack of appreciation in the landowner's peripheral parcels in the event the stadium was not built. 
• The landowner assumed the risk that, if the stadium was not built, its financial gain expectations would not be realized.

CONCLUSION
The court reversed the judgment that the landowner was entitled to damages for the loss of anticipated profits from the appreciation in value of his lands. The court ordered the award stricken.

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