Morehouse College v. McGaha

In Morehouse College v. McGaha, 277 Ga. App. 529 (627 SE2d 39) (2005), the Court held that the proper measure of future lost wages as damages for a student's wrongful expulsion from school was his lost income for the additional time necessary to complete his degree and that expert testimony concerning lost income beyond that time should have been excluded. Id. at 532-33 (1). The student's expert had testified that if the student returned to school, his lost income, additional tuition, and attorney fees would be $ 103,377, but that the value of his lost income if he did not finish college, which was likely, was $ 524,000. The jury awarded him $ 698,500. Id. at 531. The Court reversed the judgment on the ground that the verdict so greatly exceeded the student's possible damages that it could only reflect a "gross mistake." Id. at 534-535 (2). The Court also pointed out that the student would have to mitigate his damages.