Appeal from a judgment of the District Court of Nassau County, First District (Michael Ciaffa, J.), entered May 21, 2010. The judgment, after a nonjury trial, awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $5,000.

ORDERED that the judgment is reversed, without costs, and the matter is remitted to the District Court for a new trial limited to the issue of damages.

Plaintiff commenced this small claims action to recover the sum of $5,000 for defendant's defective installation of a shower unit in her home. After a nonjury trial, the District Court awarded plaintiff the principal sum of $5,000.

Although the District Court properly found defendant liable for the defective installation of the shower unit, the court erred in awarding plaintiff the sum of $5,000. It is well settled that upon the breach by a contractor of a construction contract, the measure of damages "is the difference between the contract price and the fair cost of completing the contract" (36 NY Jur 2d, Damages § 49; see Thompson v McCarthy, 289 AD2d 663, 664 [2001]).

The District Court failed to make a finding of the total amount paid by plaintiff under the contract. In any event, as plaintiff submitted two repair estimates of $3,080 and $3,350, respectively (see UDCA 1804), the court's award in favor of plaintiff in the sum of $5,000 cannot be sustained. As the judgment did not provide the parties with substantial justice according to the rules and principles of substantive law with respect to the issue of damages (UDCA 1804, 1807; see Ross v Friedman, 269 AD2d 584 [2000]; Williams v Roper, 269 AD2d 125, 126 [2000]), the judgment is reversed and the matter is remitted to the District Court for a new trial limited to the issue of damages.

Molia, J.P., Tanenbaum and LaCava, JJ., concur.
Decision Date: October 25, 2011