Destiny Manning July 11, 2017 Chicago Coliseum Club v. Dempsey (1932) Procedural History  Plaintiff brought action against Defendant to recover damages for breach of a written contract to engage in a boxing match. Legal Issue In a breach of contract action, can the plaintiff recover on related expenses incurred before the contract was formed or after the contract was breached? The question of damages divides itself into 4 propositions:  Whether the loss of profits are recoverable?  Whether the expenses incurred by the Plaintiff before the agreement was signed are recoverable?  Whether expenses incurred in attempting to restrain the Defendant in complying with the terms of the agreement are recoverable?  Whether the expenses incurred after the signing of the agreement and before the breach are recoverable? Facts of Case  Chicago Coliseum Club (Plaintiff) entered into an agreement in March 1926 with boxer Jack Dempsey (Defendant) for the Defendant to participate in a boxing contest with another boxer, Harry Wills.  One of the terms of the agreement was that Defendant would not engage in any other boxing matches between the signing of the agreement with Plaintiff and the date of the contest in September.  In July 1926, Plaintiff sent Defendant a letter in regards to another term of the agreement requesting him for insurance. Dempsey responded that he was training for a different fight and that there was no agreement between Plaintiff and himself.  Plaintiff brought suit in an Indiana court, seeking to enjoin Dempsey from fighting Tunney. The costs incurred by the Plaintiff in procuring the injunctional order were chargeable against Defendant for his breach of contract and recoverable in the proceeding.  Plaintiff also brought suit in an Illinois court for the following damages: (1) loss of profits; (2) expenses incurred prior to signing the agreement with Dempsey, meaning expenses incurred in signing the contract with Wills; (3) expenses incurred in attempting to stop Dempsey from fighting Tunney; and (4) expenses incurred after the Dempsey contract was signed, but before Dempsey’s breach. Statement of Rule The general rule is that in an action for a breach of contract a party can recover only on damages which naturally flow from and are the result of the act complained of. Reasoning 1. Lost profits from a boxing match that never took place were incapable of commensuration and speculative to be recoverable.