Opinion ID: 779792
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The District Court's Reconsideration Opinion

Text: 32 The district court began its reconsideration opinion by suggesting that Lucente failed to meet the stringent requirements for such a motion. Nevertheless, the district court chose to respond to Lucente's newly minted anticipatory repudiation theory in a lengthy opinion because, inter alia, Lucente may have misapprehended the impact of IBM's cross-motion for a declaration about how to measure damages.... Lucente v. IBM, 146 F.Supp.2d 298, 303 (S.D.N.Y.2001) ( Lucente II ). 33 With regard to Lucente's restricted stock damages, the district court held that Lucente could not rely on a theory of anticipatory breach. Adhering to its original ruling, the court confirmed that Lucente's restricted stock damages should be measured from a reasonable period of time after Lucente would have received the stock in unrestricted form. Unlike its original ruling, however, where it held that this issue was a jury question, the court now made that determination itself. Based on factual declarations that the parties submitted after discovery, the district court found that Lucente would have received his restricted stock on November 10, 1993. Further, it determined that seven weeks was a reasonable period for Lucente to assimilate the necessary information about his stock. Using a conversion method of damages, the district court then calculated Lucente's restricted stock damages at $733,909.25. Id. at 307-08. 34 With regard to Lucente's stock options damages, the court held that Lucente had already elected to treat IBM's cancellation letter as a breach, rather than an anticipatory repudiation. Id. at 316. Accordingly, Lucente's stock option damages were to be measured from that date. However, the district court offered Lucente the opportunity to amend his Original Complaint to allege an election to treat IBM's cancellation letter as an anticipatory repudiation that was rejected with regard to his January 2001 options. Because IBM had rejected Lucente's tender of a check for these stock options, the district court found that an anticipatory repudiation theory was viable only if Lucente amended his Complaint. Such an amendment would allow Lucente to recover damages for the January 2001 options, the only options that were timely exercised. Id. at 316-17. 35