Err, no: that's double-dipping. The law of tort requires that the injured party be 'made whole,' that is, returned as close to his status quo ante as money can make possible. If somebody wrecks your car, you won't get the value of your old car plus the price of a new one!Darryl Young wrote:
If he retops, seems he would need compensated for the cost of the original top/materials, the labor in building/tuning/assembling the original top, the cost of the new top/materials, the labor to build/tune/assemble/finish the new top. If he is just compensated for the replacing the top, he isn't compensated for his original labor loss which is significant.
If Alan were not the builder, simply the owner, and the owner of this instrument took it to a luthier, the defendant would be obligated to pay for the cost of restoring the instrument to like-new condition, which is what the owner possessed before (depending on the state and the judge, he could also claim the cash difference for any decrease in value of the re-conditioned axe from brand-new).