Opinion ID: 770481
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Breach of Contract and Professional Malpractice

Text: 56 TPI also cross-appeals from the district court's judgment as a matter of law finding no merit in the breach of contract and professional malpractice claims with respect to Adams and Kayuta Lake. However, we find TPI's argument unconvincing. TPI presented no expert evidence concerning professional malpractice at these two sites and, accordingly, the district court correctly dismissed these claims for lack of proof. 3 TPI also failed to establish a breach by Dunlevy or Stetson-Harza of any contract regarding these two plants. TPI's service contracts with Dunlevy and Stetson-Harza simply did not include a contractual guarantee that any particular site would produce a particular amount of energy. See J.A. 1289-90. VII. Prejudgment Interest 57 TPI argues that the district court erred in failing to amend the judgment to award prejudgment interest. TPI argues that under New York law, it is entitled to prejudgment interest as a matter of right. Stetson-Harza and Dunlevy both contend that prejudgment interest is inappropriate here because such an award might improperly include interest on future damages and any attempt to separate out the prejudgment interest based on when damages accrued would necessarily result in pure speculation. Stetson-Harza Br. at 22 (internal quotation omitted). 58 TPI is correct that New York law instructs courts to award prejudgment interest as a matter of right when a defendant's act or omission depriv[es] or otherwise interfer[es] with title to, or possession or enjoyment of, property. N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 5001(a) (McKinney 2000); see Mallis v. Bankers Trust Co., 717 F.2d 683, 693-94 (2d Cir. 1983); Spector v. Mermelstein, 485 F.2d 474, 481-82 (2d Cir. 1973). While Stetson-Harza and Dunlevy properly raise concerns about an award of prejudgment interest based on future damages, see Gordon v. Matthew Bender & Co., 186 F.3d 183, 186 (2d Cir. 1999), we are confident that the district court will ably resolve these issues on remand. This may be done for instance by separately calculating prejudgment interest for each year that damages accrue/accrued or by calculating interest from a reasonable intermediate date. See, e.g., Manhattan Fuel Co. v. New England Petroleum Corp., 439 F. Supp. 959, 971 (S.D.N.Y. 1977), aff'd 578 F.2d 1368 (2d Cir. 1978) (calculating interest per month based on when the action for damages accrued); Falcone v. EDO Corp., 141 A.D.2d 498, 500 (N.Y. App. Div. 1988) (computing interest under § 5001(b) from a reasonable date). Difficulties in calculation do not warrant ignoring the mandate of the state's statute. See Cruz v. Local Union Number 3, 34 F.3d 1148, 1157 (2d Cir. 1994) (difficulty in calculating backpay under Title VII should not result in the denial of a reasonable estimate); Falcone, 141 A.D.2d at 500. See also Slicker v. Jackson, 215 F.3d 1225, 1229-30 (11th Cir. 2000) (compensatory damages for violation of constitutional rights may be awarded despite difficulty in calculating the monetary value of injury) (citing Memphis Community Sch. Dist. v. Stachura, 477 U.S. 299, 307 (1986)). 59 VIII. TPI's Claims for Breach of Contract with Respect to Forestport and Ogdensburg 60 In light of our resolution of TPI's claim for professional malpractice with respect to these two hydroelectric power plants, we need not resolve its contentions in this portion of the cross-appeal. See TPI Br. at 56 n.18 (To the extent this Court affirms TPI's damage award on its malpractice claim, this issue may be academic.).