Columbia Park Golf Course, Inc., Respondent, v. The City of Kennewick, Appellant., 160 Wn. App. 66

Summary

The city did not challenge the jury's finding that it breached the agreement with the company. Instead, the city argued that the damages awarded were not recoverable as a matter of law. The court disagreed and affirmed. It was undisputed that the parties' agreement was an enforceable contract, and the evidence supported the conclusion that the city's breached the agreement and the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The trial court found that the agreement was a contract to negotiate, and the damages recoverable for a breach of such a contract was an undecided issue in Washington. The court found no basis to adopt a special rule that always foreclosed the usual expectation measure of damages when a longstanding reasonable certainty requirement already guarded against speculative awards. Damages were properly determined by the jury. Thus, the trial court properly denied the city's motions to dismiss the company's claims. Where the company was not seeking lost profits, the giving of...