Haney v. Aramark Uniform Services

Joseph Toscano sued Greene Music (Greene) for promissory estoppel stemming from Greenes unfulfilled promise of employment, which caused Toscano to resign from an at-will employment position with his former employer. The court awarded Toscano damages including lost wages based on what Toscano would have earned from his former employer to the time of his retirement. Greene appeals from the judgment, contending such future wages are impermissible reliance damages and are speculative as a matter of law. We hold such damages are recoverable on a promissory estoppel theory as long as they are not speculative or remote and are supported by substantial evidence, but they are not available to Toscano under the evidence in this case. Accordingly, we vacate the award of damages to Toscano for lost future earnings from September 1, 2001, to his retirement and remand the matter to the trial court for retrial limited to the amount of those damages only. We affirm the judgment in all other respects.