Opinion ID: 2507160
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Legal Damages

Text: ¶ 28 The district court allowed Deep Creek to present evidence of legal damages for lost profits in the event specific performance is impossible. Deep Creek produced evidence of the auction sales of state surplus property vehicles during the actual three years it was entitled to the surplus property credits. The district court found that this evidence did not prove Deep Creek's legal damages to a reasonable certainty. It ruled that legal damages for lost profits were too speculative because Deep Creek had never operated a surplus property business in the past and did not have a track record of similar past sales. Deep Creek challenges this ruling on cross-appeal. ¶ 29 Appellate review of this issue would be premature at this time. If the district court determines that specific performance is possible, it will be unnecessary to resolve the issue of whether legal damages for lost profits are too speculative. In addition, the measure of legal damages may vary depending on whether Deep Creek was promised only federal surplus property or state and federal surplus property. Therefore, the issue of whether Deep Creek has proven legal damages to a reasonable certainty cannot be resolved until the district court determines what the parties intended by the term surplus property. Accordingly, as a predicate to appellate review, the district court must first decide, if necessary and in light of its resolution of the contractual ambiguity, the question of whether Deep Creek has proven legal damages to a reasonable certainty.