Opinion ID: 2602361
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Damages Based on Expert Estimates

Text: ¶ 74 In addition to arguing that the damages were calculated as of an improper date, defendants also contend the trial court erred in allowing the jury to award lost ownership and cash distribution damages based solely on the estimates of plaintiffs' expert witness, Schutz. We conclude the trial court did not err in this regard. ¶ 75 Part of the difficulty in addressing this issue is that, contrary to defendants' assertions, there was evidence apart from Schutz's testimony to support the jury verdict. The jury had before it several similar appraisals of Channel 13's value prepared by Wood, Northstar, Communications Partners, and Frazier, Gross & Kadlec. Even setting aside this evidence, however, we conclude Schutz's testimony is not insufficient as a matter of law. ¶ 76 Lost profits must be established with reasonable certainty, Cook Assocs., Inc. v. Warnick, 664 P.2d 1161, 1165 (Utah 1983), or, in other words, with `sufficient certainty that reasonable minds might believe from a preponderance of the evidence that the damages were actually suffered.' Id. (quoting First Sec. Bank of Utah v. J.B.J. Feedyards, Inc., 653 P.2d 591, 596 (Utah 1982)); see also Canyon Country Store v. Bracey, 781 P.2d 414, 418 (Utah 1989). While start-up businesses, such as Channel 13, lack an actual record of past earnings, which decreases the certainty with which one could predict future profits[,] . . . that fact should not automatically preclude new businesses from recovering lost profits. . . . Rather, new businesses should be allowed to try to prove lost profits up to a reasonable level of certainty by other means. . . . Cook, 664 P.2d at 1166. One method of measuring damages in such a situation is by expert testimony. Id. at 1166 n. 4. While this may not be as precise as other methods of proof, nevertheless, [o]nce a defendant has been shown to have caused a loss, he should not be allowed to escape liability because the amount of the loss cannot be proved with precision. . . . Consequently, the reasonable level of certainty required to establish the amount of a loss is generally lower than that required to establish the fact or cause of a loss. Id. at 1166 (citations and emphasis omitted); see also Price-Orem Inv. Co. v. Rollins, Brown & Gunnell, Inc., 784 P.2d 475, 478 n. 1 (Utah Ct.App.1989) (While an award of damages based only upon speculation cannot be upheld, some degree of uncertainty in the evidence of damages will not relieve the defendant from compensating a wronged plaintiff.). Accordingly, [t]he certainty requirement is met as to the amount of lost profits if there is sufficient evidence to enable the trier of fact to make a reasonable approximation. Cook, 664 P.2d at 1166. ¶ 77 Applying the above principles to the case at hand, we conclude Schutz's testimony was not inadequate as a matter of law to provide a basis for the jury's award of damages. Schutz used industry-accepted methods to calculate the potential value of Channel 13, and, in calculating Channel 13's potential market revenue prior to 1997, Schutz used estimates based on published information of actual Salt Lake television stations. While such expert testimony may not be as precise as calculations of actual revenue, it is, nevertheless, not inadequate as a matter of law. The testimony presented sufficient evidence to enable the trier of fact to make a reasonable approximation. Id.