Angelia Televsion v. Reed
3 All E.R. 690 (CA 1971)
Angelia was producing a play
for television in England.
They built sets, hired
actors, etc. The last step was to hire a leading man, Reed.
At the last minute, Reed
backed out.
Although Angelia attempted to
replace him (thereby mitigating damages), they were unable to do so, and
so the play was called off.
Angelia sued Reed for breach
of contract.
Angelia argued that they
should recover for the cost of the sets and actor's salaries.
Reed argued that the costs
Angelia was talking about were things that happened before they signed the contract with Reed, and he
couldn't possible be liable for that.
See Chicago Coliseum v.
Dempsey (265 Ill.App. 542 (Ill.App.
1 Dist. 1932)), which agreed with Reed.
The Trial Court found for
Angelia. Reed appealed.
The Trial Court found that
these costs were recoverable, even though they occurred prior to the
contract with Reed.
The Court found that
"where lost profits cannot be ascertained, plaintiff is entitled to
recover wasted expenditure and is not necessarily limited to that
incurred after the contract was made."
