In a recent case before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, an interesting question arose as to whether the defendant, the company providing security, could be responsible for a decrease in value of the property because of a loss that the plaintiff contended was the fault of the security company.
The plaintiff intended to sell the large industrial facility as a turnkey operation. The plaintiff contracted with the defendant security company to provide security at the facility, but according to its complaint, the security company did not prevent thefts of expensive electronic controls and other items from the facility. The plaintiff filed a complaint for breach of contract seeking $4 million, which it estimated to be the difference between the price at which it would have sold the facility if the thefts had not occurred and the actual sale price.