Opinion ID: 1817319
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: additional labor costs:

Text: The general rule with respect to damages resulting from breach of contract is that where complete performance is prevented by either party, the other who is willing to perform is entitled to damages sufficient to make him whole. Beech v. Johnson, 102 Miss. 419, 59 So. 800 (1912). The plaintiff in such a case is entitled to recover any damages directly attributable to the defendant's breach. Luria Brothers & Co. v. United States, 369 F.2d 701 (Ct.Cl. 1966); J.D. Hedin Construction Co. v. United States, 347 F.2d 235, (Ct.Cl. 1965). An element of damage claimed in the case sub judice is loss of productivity of its labor. That loss of productivity of labor resulting from improper delays caused by defendant is an item of damages for which plaintiff is entitled to recover admits of no doubt, Abbett Electric Corp. v. United States, 162 F. Supp. 772, 142 Ct.Cl. 609 (1958); nor does the impossibility of proving the amount with exactitude bar recovery for the item ... (citations omitted). It is a rare case where loss of productivity can be proven by books and records; almost always it has to be proven by the opinions of expert witnesses. However, the mere expression of an estimate as to the amount of productivity loss by an expert witness with nothing to support it will not establish the fundamental fact of resultant injury nor provide a sufficient basis for making a reasonably correct approximation of damages. See Wunderlich Contracting Co. v. United States, 351 F.2d 956, 968, 173 Ct.Cl. 180, 199 (1965). Luria Brothers, supra, at 712-713. Donald Doleac, duly qualified as an expert in the field of electrical construction, testified that the failure of Mississippi Mechanical to coordinate its work with the other contractors resulted in a substantial loss of productivity on the part of Doleac. Mr. Doleac testified, for example, that the failure of Mississippi Mechanical to insulate pipes prevented the general contractor from installing the ceiling grid; this in turn prevented Doleac from installing the light fixtures. Additionally, Doleac testified that conduit previously installed had to be re-routed as a result of the failure of Mississippi Mechanical to coordinate its work; that no electrical work could be performed in the tunnel area because water had seeped in as a result of Mississippi Mechanical's breach; a boiler couldn't be installed because of unfinished duct work; and that his men had to be moved around in a cost-ineffective manner to work piecemeal in areas of the building. Malcolm Wetsell, inspector for Benham & Perkins, inspecting architects on the project, also testified that, as a result of duct work left incomplete by Mississippi Mechanical, light fixtures could not be installed by the electrical contractor. George Reed, architect with Landry & Reed, the principal architects on the project, testified that the delay in the progress of the general and electrical contractors was the result of the delay by Mississippi Mechanical. Among the examples given by Mr. Reed were the fact that conduit could not be put in place because Mississippi Mechanical had not installed the necessary ducts and the fact that final electrical connections could not be made because Mississippi Mechanical had failed to install the necessary motors. In the case sub judice, the unrebutted testimony of Donald Doleac was, unlike the testimony offered in Luria Brothers, corroborated in several material respects. The chancellor's award was not, as appellant suggests, based solely on the testimony of Donald Doleac. This assignment of error is without merit.