Toscano v. Greene Music
California Court of Appeal
21 Cal. Rptr. 3d 732 (2004)
- Written by Salina Kennedy, JD
Facts
Joseph Toscano (plaintiff), an at-will employee, worked as general manager of Fields Pianos (Fields). In July 2001, Greene Music (defendant) offered Toscano a job with a start date of September 1, 2001. Toscano accepted the job and resigned from Fields Piano on August 1, 2002. Two weeks later, Greene withdrew its offer. Toscano searched for employment and eventually accepted a lower-paying job. Toscano subsequently sued Greene, claiming promissory estoppel. At a bench trial, Toscano argued that he was entitled to expectancy damages in the form of the lost wages Fields would have paid him from September 1, 2001 through his expected retirement in 2017. In support of his claim, Toscano presented expert testimony that his lost wages for this time period totaled $417,772. Toscano’s expert based this calculation on the assumption that Toscano would have remained at his job with Fields if Greene had not offered him a job. The trial court, reasoning that Toscano had moved to higher-paying employers in the past and would likely have continued to do so, awarded him $536,833. Greene filed a motion for new trial, which the trial court denied. Greene appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (O’Rourke, J.)
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