Imperial Coal Co. v. Port Royal Coal Co.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Imperial Coal Co. v. Port Royal Coal Co., 138 Pa. 45 (Pa. 1890)
20 A. 937; 1890 Pa. LEXIS 1235
Clabk, Green, McCollum, Mitchell, Paxson, Pee, Stebbett, Williams

Imperial Coal Co. v. Port Royal Coal Co.

Opinion of the Court

Pee, Curiam:

We have examined this voluminous record with some care, and find it free from error. The only matter calling for comment is raised by the eighteenth assignment, and refers to the question of damages. While it is undoubtedly true that mere speculative profits cannot be recovered in an action for breach of contract, a careful examination of the assignment shows that the profits in question were not within this rule. The jury have found the contract to be as plaintiff alleged ; that it was an entire contract; that the defendant was to furnish plaintiff with enough coal to keep its sixty ovens in operation for six months, and that the price was to be one dollar per ton. The profits in such case were not speculative; they did not depend upon the fluctuations of the market, or the demand for coke, and they could be ascertained with mathematical accuracy. As the plaintiff corporation was obliged to equip itself at a heavy expense to perform the contract, it is only just that upon its breach it should recover for the net profits which it certainly would have made.

Judgment affirmed.

Reference

Full Case Name
IMPERIAL COAL CO. v. PORT ROYAL COAL CO.
Cited By
9 cases
Status
Published
Syllabus
On the breach of a contract to supply plaintiff company with coal suffi-j cient to keep its coke plant in full operation for a definite period, to be converted into coke for the defendant company at a fixed price per ton,, the plaintiff may recover the net profits which it certainly would have! made had the contract been performed.