Damages Awarded to Plaintiff Stopped from Completing Contract; Calculation Based on the Fair Price of the Entire Work and Lost Profits for Work Not Performed
Zulla Steel v. A & M Gregos, Inc., 415 A.2d 1183, 174 N.J. Super. 124 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 1980)
In this case, a subcontractor brought an action against the prime contractor for breach after contractor failed to make progress payments when due. The plaintiff did not complete the project. The court found that the contractor’s failure to make timely payments constituted a material breach and that the plaintiff was therefore justified in terminating its performance. The court held that the measure of damages in a matter where the plaintiff was stopped from completing the contract is “such a proportion of the entire price as the fair cost of that work bears to the fair cost of the whole work and, in respect to the work not performed, such profits as he would have realized as a result of the complete performance.” Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court was affirmed, with slight modification.
