Alleghany Pharmacal Corp. v. Parbel of Florida, Inc.
Court: Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York; April 1, 1996; New York; State Appellate Court
Plaintiffs were granted summary judgment on their first, second, fourth, and sixth causes of action due to the defendant’s breach of contract regarding trademark protection. The defendant failed to act against gray-market imports of products manufactured in the U.K. by an independent manufacturer, which, while licensed by the defendant’s U.K. subsidiary, had no direct relationship with the defendant itself. This situation aligns with the "case 3" model from the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc., which indicates that the defendant had the right to seek cessation of these imports but did not do so. After a nonjury trial on damages, the court awarded plaintiffs a total of $1,221,146.38, which included interest, costs, and disbursements. The trial court's conclusions regarding damages were based on witness credibility and were deemed a fair interpretation of the evidence presented. Plaintiffs successfully demonstrated lost future profits with reasonable certainty, providing sufficient evidentiary proof that their claimed damages resulted from the breach and were foreseeable at the contract's inception. The court upheld the trial court's determination of the reasonable value of legal services rendered, affirming that the awarded amount was appropriately related to the unrecovered principal and efforts involved in the case. The appellate court found the defendant’s additional arguments to be without merit and unanimously affirmed the lower court's judgments.