Walter J. McClelland, Appellant v. Climax Hosiery Mills, Respondent

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals reversed the judgment that awarded only the June salary and remanded for a full reassessment of damages, holding that a defendant in default may offer evidence to mitigate damages and that the burden of proving any reduction rests on the defendant. The court found the defendant's testimony about a possible alternative employment vague and insufficient to reduce the plaintiff's prima facie damages. A concurrence agreed with the majority's conclusions and added commentary on the historical scope of mitigating circumstances.