Cases | State v. May, 689 A.2d 1075 | 2018
The defendant was convicted of possession of stolen property arising from the theft of computer equipment from a printing business. The trial court awarded the victim restitution for lost profits associated with costs of reentering information into a new computer, press downtime, lost customers, discounting of a project, and an insurance deductible. The defendant appealed. The court found that the estimate of lost profits was based on speculation and conjecture and struck the restitution order with the exception of the insurance deductible. Lost profits may be awarded as restitution damages only if there is a reasonable basis for estimating loss. The insurance deductible was properly awarded because the victim had not incurred all of its losses by the time the defendant obtained possession of the stolen equipment.