Ivey v. Transunion Rental Screening Solutions, Inc.

This case presents question as to whether trial court properly granted defendant’s motion for summary judgment in plaintiff’s action, alleging that defendant breached contract calling for defendant to build platform to sell plaintiff’s customized leases for rental market, where trial court found that plaintiff’s damages were too speculative, since plaintiff was new business that had no evidence regarding estimated actual sales of its leases. Appellate Court, in affirming trial court, found that under “new business rule,” expert witness provided by plaintiff cannot speculate about possible lost profits where no historical data demonstrated likelihood of future profits, and that plaintiff could not use data from proffered different company to establish plaintiff’s lost profits, where said company sold different kind of lease. Appellate Court also noted that plaintiff did not base its alleged lost profits on actual sales of another entity operating comparable business. (Dissent filed.)