The case involved assessment of lost profits for a new business in Boston. The claim was that but for the inactions of the Boston Police in not granting a permit to the new company, the plaintiff would have started a tour company with unique features. Given start-up firm, special attention was given to the distinction between fact of damages vs. amount of damages. Also, consider factors likely to be associated with the success or not of any new company.

A federal case involved a commercial dispute between a developer, manufacturer, distributor of skin care and beauty products and a large television network that marketed and sold these products via special TV shows. Damages estimated included lost profits due to reduction (then cessation) of show times, extra storage costs as supply line backed up, and prejudgment interest.

The case involved a dispute arising from waste processing, specifically the extraction of steel from used tires for production of steel. Plaintiff’s expert relied mainly on ideas and conjectures of plaintiff. I was engaged by defense counsel, and rebutted plaintiff’s expert report by challenging the breach of contract, unjust enrichment and tortious interference claims totaling nearly $65m. The case settled favorably for the client.

The case involved a breach of written contract and breach of covenant of good faith and fair dealing by an NBA coach who failed to seek alternative employment after being fired by an NBA team. Analysis consisted of estimating loss to the team had defendant in fact secured a job in keeping with his past experience as leading a NBA and college basketball coach.

A case between a San Francisco wholesale/retail fish company and a large oil company led to a damages assessment of past lost profits measured as but for revenue minus actual revenue, less variable costs, plus the present values of future lost profits in three different scenarios.

Business disruption case in which an explosion and fire destroyed a building with offices used by dentist/owner for his dental practice and other offices as commercial space. Analysis involved estimation of lost asset value, lost rental value, lost net income from disrupted and relocated dental practice, and expenses to restore lost medical and dental records for about 5,000 patients. I represented the dentist/owner against the company who operated a dental lab in which the explosion took place.

Case involving a restaurant which depended on being located next to an off ramp from a California highway. When the state decided to move the ramp, the restaurant lost profits from reduced customers. Analysis involved consideration of profits of related restaurants in neighboring cities and net profits trend in harmed location.

Loss of business value is sometimes claimed when the actions of one party lead to the injured party no longer being able to operate or cause a delay in starting operations by the injured party. One business valuation involved a dry-mill ethanol production plant never to have been built due to breach of contract by the defendant. I used an income approach and pro-forma financial statements developed by the defendants to assess the business value of the plant.

In another case, an enterprise which provided software applications for small and medium sized retail companies was delayed in launching a new application to the point they lost prospective clients and ultimately went out of business. The defendant, an Indian software development company, missed contractual budget and time goals. Damages were lost profits while plaintiff firm was operational and lost business value afterwards.

In a case involving tawdry behavior by a defendant, an executive of a chain store had an affair with a female vendor that supplied a key component in IT applications. When the vendor tried to break off the affair, things got nasty, and the vendor was driven out of business by the actions of the executive. The matter was settled quietly after I presented the client with a business valuation estimate.

Loss of personal earnings is a frequent remedy in many cases. One notes a normal level of earnings without the wrong leading to the loss, adjusts for fringe benefits, notes any earnings impacting factors like health, age, education, and gender, and then makes a projection of both the expected future level of earnings with and without the wrongful act. Any actual earnings after the wrongful act are called mitigation and must be considered in measuring net loss of earnings. (Note these include personal injury, employment dispute, and discrimination cases). The following cases involved earnings loss and testifying in court or a legal hearing:

A constructive discharge of a pregnant cancer patient who did not achieve her targeted sales quotas when she took time off her job to deal with breast surgery. This case also involved a discussion of employee vs. independent contractor status. Oddly, the company had made a big brouhaha about cancer charity. A jury decision in TX for the plaintiff was reversed on appeal.

Another matter involved a ‘whistleblower’ and failure to promote and related wage and benefit loss. I provided detailed critique of plaintiff’s damages expert’s report.

A wrongful death case involved loss of business earnings to an Illinois restaurant owner. Analysis of loss included decedent’s loss of earnings, benefits, support services for household production (less personal consumption and income taxes). In addition, due to wife being distraught and being unable to work, I also considered and testified in court regarding both his and her earnings loss in past and future adjusted for benefits and income tax. The jury awarded damages based on my report.

One IP case involved both a patent dispute and damages in an infringement of a patent. I focused on the damage part of the case. One firm was in US and the defendant in China. The industry was oil and gas, and the key issue involved a patented flexible steel pipe for use in oil fields, on land or sea. The court based its damages award on my report which focused on but-for profits in a two-player oil field in Venezuela (thus meeting Panduit factor #2). In addition, because the plaintiff had a history of above- market profits, a portion of which was measured as lost reasonable royalties, another damages element.

Several cases have involved misappropriation of confidential trade secrets or trademarks.

1. In one such case, employees of an after-market auto parts store stole lists of customers and vendors and used this information to start a new firm, thus avoiding time and money to develop their own such information. I assessed loss of profits to the plaintiff’s firm.

2. In a similar case, a firm involved in direct mail marketing had its proprietary customer lists taken by another company whose actions led to the dissolution of the plaintiff’s firm. Lost profits again measured as a remedy.

3. A firm in the business of bundling applications for large business development funds used to fund hotels, civic arenas, airports, etc. with fund sources from non-USA citizens seeking to migrate to the United States. Defendants stole operational procedures, potential project site information, and confidential methods and procedures of plaintiff. Damages involved lost profits arising from several cause of actions by defendants.

4. In another case, a distributor of commercial/retail lamps copied designs of such lamps made by a California manufacturer, then had knock-off lamps made in China, and then sold the fake lamps in US market using same names and product numbers as the authentic lamps. Trade dress and trademark violation damages were measured by lost profits.

In one such case, an all-star swimmer suffered major internal and spinal cord injuries in an auto accident in which his seatbelt pressed sharply into his midsection when the car suddenly stopped. He was a passenger in the back seat at the time. As a result, he was rendered a paraplegic with a colostomy. Damages included present value of future earnings, and medical care. Loss of enjoyment of life was mentioned but not assessed financially. The auto maker paid for the damages.

Another case involved brain injury to a dentist who suffered carbon monoxide poisoning while driving a U-Haul truck with an exhaust leak. Damages measured as lost earnings capacity.

In a major case against the owner of a SF commercial building, a woman claimed she was injured when an automatic door swung open near where she was standing during a fire drill in the building. She ultimately claimed permanent and total disability, lost pay, medical care, and $1m for in-pool therapy (including taxi service to and from her home). She had only a high school diploma but claimed a high paying job as a CFO. I rebutted plaintiff’s expert report on damages by noting the plaintiff’s employer was about to go out of business due to an economic downturn. Jury verdict for defense. When polled, the jury found my testimony more credible than the plaintiff’s expert.

These other cases include a claim that reduced credit rating to a middle-aged nurse’s aide led to added stress, chronic back injury, reduced compensation due to cut back in work hours, and increased mortgage payments due poor credit rating. I was retained by defense counsel and noted many errors in plaintiff’s damages claim.

One unusual case involved a SF fertility clinic who mixed up the use of two fertilized eggs. Sperm from the plaintiff/father/husband was used in both instances. One fertilized egg was inserted correctly in the wife and the other fertilized egg was inserted in a second woman by mistake. The result was the birth of fraternal twins, a boy born to the second woman and a girl born to the wife. The father, to be closer to his son, moved his commercial fishing business to San Francisco from Northern California. I assessed economic damages to the plaintiff by comparing net profits from fishing business in two locations, extra costs due commuting before moving, added home production by the father. The case settled on courthouse steps primarily due to fact that the fertility doctor who lost his license had malpractice insurance, but his assistant, a veterinarian, lacked such coverage and had to pay.