## Facts

- A building contractor and a property owner contracted for construction of a garage.
- The contractor began performance and incurred expenses for labor and materials.
- Before completion, the owner wrongfully prevented further performance.
- The contractor sued for breach, seeking reimbursement of expenditures and the net profits he would have earned upon full performance.
- At trial, the contractor presented evidence of anticipated costs and profits; the owner offered no competing evidence on those amounts.
- The trial court instructed the jury that the contractor could recover lost profits if wrongful termination was found and, because the owner offered no contradictory proof, the jury was required to accept the contractor’s cost-and-profit figures.
- The jury returned a verdict for the contractor, and the owner appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether a contractor wrongfully prevented from completing a construction contract may recover both incurred expenditures and net expected profits measured by contract price minus cost of performance.
2. Whether the trial court erred by instructing that the jury was required to accept the contractor’s uncontradicted evidence of costs and profits, rather than leaving credibility and weight to the jury.

## Decision

- The court sustained the judgment for the contractor.
- It reaffirmed that a contractor wrongfully prevented from completing the work may recover the net profit he would have realized upon full performance, determined by the contract price less the cost and expense necessary to complete the work.
- It stated that proper instructions must be correct in law, adapted to the issues, and sufficient to guide the jury in finding ultimate facts from the evidence.
- It cautioned that directing a jury to accept uncontradicted testimony risks invading the jury’s role as fact-finder because the jury may evaluate credibility even absent opposing evidence.

## Legal Principles

- When an owner wrongfully prevents completion of a construction contract, the contractor may recover expectation damages, including net profits proved with reasonable certainty.
- Net profit is generally measured as the contract price minus the total cost and expense of completing performance.
- A plaintiff may also recover expenditures incurred in reliance on the contract as part of the loss caused by the breach, so long as the overall award reflects the benefit of the bargain rather than an impermissible double recovery.
- Jury instructions must accurately state the law and adequately guide jurors on the ultimate factual determinations required by the issues.
- The jury retains authority to assess the credibility and weight of testimony, even if it is uncontradicted.

## Conclusion

The court sustained a verdict awarding a contractor damages after an owner wrongfully stopped the work, confirming that recoverable damages include reasonably provable net profits measured by contract price minus completion costs, and emphasizing that trial courts should not compel juries to accept uncontradicted evidence because credibility remains for the jury to decide.


Warner v. McLay, 92 Conn. 427, 103 A. 113 (Conn. 1918)