8.11 DAMAGES CHARGES — GENERAL
D. LOSS
OF PROFITS Civil Model Jury Charge
(pre-1983)
The
measure of damages for loss of profits to a plaintiff who is an owner of a
business is the value of the plaintiff's services in carrying on that business
which were lost as a proximate result of his/her injuries. In determining the value of the plaintiff's
services, the jury should take into consideration the nature of the business,
the capital, assets and personnel employed, the average weekly (or monthly)
profits earned before and after the accident and any expense to which the
plaintiff was put to hire others to perform services which he/she had
previously performed himself/ herself.
Cases:
Woschenko v. Schmidt & Sons, 2 N.J. 269, 278 (1949): "The value of his services is manifestly
worth more than the mere cost of hiring another temporarily to fill his
place. The thorough knowledge of the
business thus acquired together with personal acquaintance with the customers
has a value in the commercial world readily recognized by any business
man. The evidence must be such as to
directly point up the value of the plaintiff's services in the operation of the
business in which case it is not conjectural."
