Case Citation
Legal Case Name

Freund v. Washington Square Press, Inc. Case Brief

New York Court of Appeals1974Docket #2505184
34 N.Y.2d 379 314 N.E.2d 419 357 N.Y.S.2d 857 1974 N.Y. LEXIS 1496 Contracts Remedies

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Case Brief Summary & Legal Analysis

General Brief
4 min read

tl;dr: An author sued a publisher for failing to publish his book. The court held that the author could not recover the cost of publication as damages, only nominal damages, because his expected royalties were too speculative to prove.

Legal Significance: Establishes that contract damages aim to award the plaintiff the “benefit of the bargain,” not the cost of the defendant’s performance. It clarifies that for a publisher’s breach, the author’s expectation interest is lost royalties, not the cost of printing the book.

Freund v. Washington Square Press, Inc. Law School Study Guide

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Case Facts & Court Holding

Key Facts & Case Background

Plaintiff, an author, entered into a contract with defendant, Washington Square Press, Inc., for the publication of his manuscript. The defendant agreed to pay a $2,000 non-returnable advance and publish the book within 18 months, after which it would pay the plaintiff royalties based on sales. The contract gave the defendant a 60-day window to terminate the agreement if it deemed the manuscript unsuitable. The defendant paid the advance and did not exercise its termination right but subsequently merged with another company and refused to publish the manuscript. The plaintiff sued for breach of contract. At trial, he sought damages for, among other things, the cost to self-publish the book. The trial court awarded him $10,000 to cover this cost, and the Appellate Division affirmed. The plaintiff did not provide a stable foundation to estimate the amount of royalties he would have earned, and thus that claim was denied for being too speculative.

Court Holding & Legal Precedent

Issue: When a publisher breaches a contract to publish an author’s manuscript, is the proper measure of damages the cost of publication or the value of the author’s lost royalties?

The author was entitled to only nominal damages. The proper measure of Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do e

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IRAC Legal Analysis

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Legal Issue

When a publisher breaches a contract to publish an author’s manuscript, is the proper measure of damages the cost of publication or the value of the author’s lost royalties?

Conclusion

This case serves as a foundational precedent for calculating contract damages, reinforcing Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in

Legal Rule

The law awards damages for breach of contract to compensate for foreseeable Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Except

Legal Analysis

The court analyzed the plaintiff's claim through the lens of the three Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam,

Flash-to-Full Case Opinions

Flash Summary

  • The measure of contract damages is the plaintiff’s loss (the benefit
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugia

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