Rule of Reasonable Certainty Law and Legal Definition
The rule of reasonable certainty dictates that recovery of lost profits will proceed despite the fact that damages cannot be calculated with mathematical certainty or without difficulty where they are clearly proximately caused by the wrong. The rule of certainty is a judge made law. In recovery of damages, the rule permits only such future pain and suffering as is reasonably certain to result from an injury.
The rule of reasonable certainty is explained in Morris Concrete, Inc. v. Warrick, 868 So. 2d 429, 440 (Ala. Civ. App. 2003). “In order that it may be a recoverable element of damages, the loss of profits must be the natural and proximate, or direct, result of the breach complained of and they must also be capable of ascertainment with reasonable, or sufficient, certainty, or there must be some basis on which a reasonable estimate of the amount of the profit can be made; absolute certainty is not called for or required. This general rule is applied in most states, and is referred to as the rule of reasonable certainty”.
