Opinion ID: 2364862
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: The Question of Severability.

Text: The instant case concerns the issue of damages. This appears to be the issue in which a limited retrial is most frequently granted. This is a suit for breach of contract. From the facts set forth in our first opinion, it is entirely clear that the issue of the measure and amount of damages is in no respect interwoven with the issue of liability. This is so, because once the breach  the refusal to renew the license agreement  is established, the measure of damages is fixed by law, and is unrelated to the circumstances respecting the formation of the contract or the circumstances of the breach. Moreover, the measure and the amount of damages are the same, whether the contract became effective in April (the date adopted by the trial court) or in May (the date adopted by this Court). The date of the breach is fixed  May 13, 1951, when Chrysler failed to renew the license agreement. This distinguishes the case at bar from the Gasoline Products case, supra, in which the court found that the jury's verdict left uncertain, among other things, the date of the breach. Chrysler suggests that Quimby's compliance with the additional condition that he sell 51% of his stock would affect the amount of his recovery. This suggestion we cannot understand. Quimby did not sell his stock; he never had the opportunity to do so, because Chrysler never approved or designated the purchaser. Chrysler also argues that the amount of the verdict suggests the application of the policy of the courts to grant a full new trial in cases of grossly excessive damages. Wax v. Altshuler, 22 N.J.Super. 229, 91 A.2d 768, 771. In that case the court held that the emotionalism which caused the jury to err in regards to damages also influenced them in their determination of the issue of liability. No such case is presented here. The amount of the verdict  some $92,000  could well be based on the evidence that the court permitted the jury to consider. It was some $50,000 less than Quimby asked for.