Opinion
April 8, 1988
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Oswego County, Sullivan, J.
Present — Denman, J.P., Green, Pine and Lawton, JJ.
Judgment unanimously affirmed with costs. Memorandum: On a prior appeal, we affirmed the Referee's findings on liability and remitted the matter for a new trial on the issue of damages only (Woodruff v. Castaldo, 113 A.D.2d 403, 408). Defendants' attempt to relitigate the issue of liability is barred by the doctrine of law of the case (see, Kenford Co. v. County of Erie, 138 A.D.2d 946; Vanguard Tours v. Town of Yorktown, 102 A.D.2d 868).
Plaintiffs were properly awarded damages for the diminution in rental value of the premises over the unexpired term of the lease. Plaintiffs' expert calculated the total loss for the remaining years, then discounted that figure to compute the present value of such loss on the date the lease was commenced. That was the proper measure of damages (Woodruff v. Castaldo, supra, at 409-410; see Van Wagner Adv. Corp. v. S M Enters., 67 N.Y.2d 186, 194-196; Park W. Mgt. Corp. v. Mitchell, 47 N.Y.2d 316, 329, cert denied 444 U.S. 992).
Finally, the court properly awarded plaintiffs prejudgment interest on such damages from the date of the breach (CPLR 5001 [a], [b]).